Seattle Plastic Surgeon riffs on the possible link between gynecomastia and marijuana use.
Okay, full disclosure here. This is just my theory. It is based on nothing more than urban myth from my high school days and wishful thinking.
The yearly procedural statistics published by the American society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) recently came out and one of the procedures with a significant increase in frequency was the correction of gynecomastia otherwise know as male breast reduction. This procedure was up 11% between 2012 and 2013. This got me wondering about an urban myth from my high school days that marijuana use causes gynecomastia. A little research online did not come up anything really convincing but there are studies that show regular toking decreases testosterone levels in men.
If, in fact, regular marijuana use does cause gynecomastia, I better look into getting some more operating room time. Seattle was the epicenter for recreational marijuana legalization and in the very near future anyone over 21 will be able to walk into a “Green Boutique” and make a purchase. Seattle is already the home to about a bajillion medical marijuana shops and from the fragrance I smell when I’m walking in downtown Seattle, there are a lot of people carrying one of those “green cards” in their wallets. And soon, they won’t even need one for a purchase.
I am really, really hoping that the gynecomastia/marijuana connection is real. I really like doing gynecomastia surgery and I’ve been telling my seventeen-year-old twin sons about the connection for several years. I don’t want it to turn out to be just another “dumb thing Mom says to scare us.”
Thanks for reading! Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder