Background: Referrals of men to breast assessment clinics are increasing. While most of the men will have benign disease, some of them will have breast cancer. Whichever pathology they have, men should be offered a service tailored to their needs, rather than being ‘shoe-horned' into a service designed to care for women. This paper explores the psychological impact on men of their condition and of attending a breast assessment clinic. Methods: The literature regarding male experience of breast problems is reviewed, and screening for psychological morbidity is discussed. Results of a survey regarding an all-male breast assessment clinic are reported, with a plan for future research. Results: Many of the 78 men surveyed described negative feelings relating to their condition although they did not want to be seen in an all-male breast assessment clinic if that meant a longer wait. Men reported feelings of anxiety, embarrassment, emasculation and even depression regarding their condition. Conclusions: Men are distressed by gynaecomastia and need psychological support for any breast-related presentation. More formalised research into this area is needed, although the men's distress does not translate into the desire to attend an all-male assessment clinic if this means a longer wait before being seen.

Guidewires are commonly used in clinical practice over a wide range of specialties. Their use has become more popular as a result of advances in endourology and interventional radiology, as well as in angiographic procedures. While there are many papers regarding individual guidewires and certain technical aspects, for the interested clinician there is little to give a generalized overview within the literature. This paper aims to review guidewires in terms of their make-up, applications and potential complications. Technical points are described, as well as rescue methods for complications, in the hope of preventing future litigation for those reading the paper.

Background: Pneumomastia is air within the breast parenchyma. A number of causes have been reported for this condition. This case report describes a new cause and details of the management strategy applied, together with a review of the literature. Case Report: We describe a case of acute breast swelling in a 40-year-old woman and its subsequent successful conservative management. Conclusion: Bronchopleural fistula after thoracotomy is a risk, and can cause pneumomastia. This is more likely to occur after redo thoracic surgery. Pneumomastia after repeat thoracotomy can be managed conservatively, even in the presence of a bronchopleural fistula.

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