Philadelphia Plastic Surgeon Sees Link between Marijuana and Enlarged Male Breasts

Philadelphia, PA – Dr. Adrian Lo, a Philadelphia plastic surgeon, recently told a local news outlet that he believes there is a link, among men, between smoking pot regularly and developing excessive breast tissue.

Dr. Lo was interviewed for an article on philly.com exploring the connection between smoking marijuana and developing "man boobs" (a medical condition known as gynecomastia). This has been a controversial issue between marijuana advocates and scientists for years, but Dr. Lo, who is an authority on gynecomastia, believes there is a connection.

"If you're a guy and you're worried about gynecomastia, you shouldn't smoke pot because there's a link," he warned.

The president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Robert X. Murphy Jr., agreed with Dr. Lo, noting that at his own practice, when a gynecomastia candidate is neither overweight, nor taking any medication that could potentially trigger enlarged male breasts, "it is reasonable to deduce that pot is the likely cause."

There is not a lot of recent medical proof to back this up, because as Dr. Lo observed, marijuana is illegal in most states and it is difficult to conduct research. However, the philly.com article referenced a 1972 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which found that marijuana "throw[s] off the normal balance of hormones stimulat[ing] breast tissue growth" in men.

Dr. Murphy said that as more men seek breast reduction surgery - which is now among the top five cosmetic surgical procedures for men - the empirical evidence is mounting.

"I'm not hating on pot," Dr. Lo says. "Everyone who does what I do has seen it, whether you choose to believe it or not."

To learn more about Dr. Lo and gynecomastia surgery, please visit www.mygynecomastiasurgeon.com.

About Adrian Lo, MD

Adrian Lo, MD, is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Philadelphia, PA. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario, Dr. Lo has more than 20 years of surgical experience, and is a leading authority on male breast reduction surgery. He has published more than 50 articles on topics ranging from craniofacial to cosmetic surgery, and is a former assistant professor of plastic surgery at Temple University Medical School. Dr. Lo belongs to several prestigious medical associations, including the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. He has received recognition throughout his career for his professional excellence, including being named a "Top Doc" by Philadelphia Magazine.