His self-esteem was going down the tubes. He was 17, and the Dr. said it was not likely to go away on its own. Insurance paid for the surgery. Teenage boys are loaded with testosterone and sometimes they have similar problems, but it is more rare. There are anti-aromatase drugs, such as Clomid, used to prevent this.
Bodybuilders typically resort to surgery once they get gyno, however.
I've heard that milder cases will go away on their own if estrogen levels return to normal - i.e. after puberty or sessation of a steroid cycle. More severe cases allegedly do not, even after T levels haved returned to normal. The hormone suppression therapy or 'natural' methods may or may not have a goal of suppressing testosterone levels - you should check to verify this. That would be fine if it worked and you don't mind losing muscle mass and other side effects such as the the sudden desire to start a building a doll collection. Depression has been associated with a sudden drop in testosterone.