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Penis enlargement: The long and the short of it

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Did you know your penis has three erectile tissues called the bulb, the right crura and the left crura, surrounded by muscular tissue? And these tissues fills with blood when you need it to? If you didn’t know, it’s likely because you don’t care. However, we do know you care about what your penis is – or isn’t – doing in the bedroom. We understand that you don’t have to know how it works, just that it does. However, some men are born with what is known as a ‘micropenis’, meaning a penis that is smaller than is structurally normal. This is a very specific condition and many men who do not have a micropenis will inquire about penis enlargement, so it must be stressed that only if you have this condition (your doctor can help you with understanding what is the norm, if necessary) should you consider avenues for enlargement. If you need to know more about what this may entail, we have the details. So read on to get it on.

Self-consciousness can affect any Tom, Dick or Harry

Everybody has body hang-ups. For men, the penis is a landmine, so absolutely nobody should feel bad for feeling bad – it’s entirely normal. Having a negative experience in the bedroom, or just feeling a bit self-conscious when you have your jocks off, can affect the man downstairs when you’re getting busy. Studies have shown that this in turn rubs off on women, and they too start feeling less sexual.

But fear not gentlemen, where there’s a ‘willy’ there’s a way.

Penis enhancement: My spear is bigger than your spear

There’s no doubt about it, men have been preoccupied with the size of their penises since the dawn of time. Sadhus holy men in India and Cholomec tribal men in Peru used to put weights on their penises to stretch it out. And Western hippies weren’t the first to pierce their privates – Dayak tribesmen in Borneo started it ages ago so that their ladies were assured bang for their buck in the hut. Topinama tribesmen in Brazil went to some far out extremes too, getting poisonous snakes to snack on their penis to make it swell!

Thankfully, you don’t have to go to such great or painful lengths nowadays to get some more length where it counts. However, if you have a normal sized penis, then medical professionals don’t advocate any surgical options. Some men may think they have a size problem when they don’t – this is often referred to as psychological dysmorphism, and talking to a counsellor will help sort out that confusion.


Again, only those men who have been to their doctor and been confirmed to have a micropenis should consider surgical options. Even so, we must emphasise that these procedures are ill defined and success is uncertain.

We want you to know what is out there, if only to understand the true risks involved.

Lengthening a dude’s dude

You absolutely must be careful when researching any options in this area, as no one surgery is guaranteed to be successful. Your first point of call must ALWAYS be your doctor. But for education’s sake, here’s the list of what is out there:

Abdomino/pubopelvic liposuction

Abdomino/pubopelvic liposuction is one of the safest ways of providing visual extension of the penis. It is for men who have a lot of pubic fat or a protruding abdomen, giving the illusion of a smaller penis. A plastic surgeon removes the excess fat surrounding this area.

Details of the success and rates of complications of this as a single procedure are sparse, as it is commonly performed in combination with other penile enhancement procedures.


Suspensory ligament dissection

This procedure involves the surgical detachment of the suspensory ligament. The suspensory ligament attaches the penis to the pubic bone, and has important functions in supporting and stabilising the penis at the appropriate angles for vaginal penetration and sexual intercourse. The space created by detachment is filled with fat tissue or another substance to avoid reattachment of the ligament. Following detachment, stretching is recommended with either vacuum devices, traction appliances or specialised weights.

Studies have shown that satisfaction with this procedure is actually quite low.

Skin flaps

If extension of the penis is limited by the skin overlying the penis and pubic area (penopubic skin), skin flaps may be used to advance the penopubic skin onto the shaft of the penis. This procedure is most commonly performed in conjunction with an elongation procedure to achieve full skin covering of the extended penis, but also in conditions such as penoscrotal webbing or in cases of overly aggressive circumcision.

But there are drawbacks, like a weird hair side effect that may actually make you worse off, so it’s not the best option.

Injectable materials: The worth of girth


Girth over length, you say? Despite what you read in your girlfriend’s Cosmo, this is an extremely controversial procedure and isn’t used very often, as there are many risks involved.

These options are aimed at increasing the girth of a micropenis:

Fat injection

Basically, this is taking your gut fat and injecting it into your ol’ man. It can work, but the more fat you inject, the greater the risk of making your penis unsymmetrical and lumpy. Also, sometimes it can effect stiffness, so then you’re back to the drawing board.

Silicone injection

This is pretty much a no-no because there have been reports of severe complications. Of course, there are small studies that have reported otherwise – but do you really want to take that risk with anything even close to your crotch?

Hyaluronic acid gel injection

This has been shown to be quite effective, increasing girth by up to 1.5 cm in glanular circumference after one year without too many side effects, but some medicos do believe that glanular enhancement as a separate procedure may be problematic. So read up and take it in to your specialist if you feel this might be an option.


Dermal fat grafts

This is when the tissue and skin near the bottom is literally grafted onto the penis. Studies show inconsistent results, but some suggest there can be a 2.5–5.1 cm increase in girth.

This procedure takes about seven hours and has a high rate of complications, like skin injury or curvature. Also, because it involves grafting your belly or butt skin to your manhood, there can be scarring or even graft rejection. Often girth is increased, but there are definitely risks to this procedure.

Alloderm, a substance created from donated human skin, can sometimes be used more successfully, but that doesn’t mean there are no risks. Sometimes infection or fibrosis can occur.

Venous grafts

This procedure only helps out an erect penis, and it is very much still in its infancy. Segments of vein, usually from the leg, are grafted to enlargen the corpora cavernosa. It doesn’t seem to cause too many complications, but the procedure is still considered experimental.

Don’t let anyone scam your ham!

Always consult a medical professional if you are looking into penis enhancement. This cannot be stressed enough. Start with your GP and then, if you both feel confident this is for you, your GP will refer you to an urologist or plastic surgeon.

You may find out at an early stage that it’s not even necessary – the problem may be more in your mind than your pants.

If you decide it is for you, then anyone you deal with must have credentials and be backed by an independent medical body. Any options that are non-surgical haven’t been supported by scientific research, so pills or pumps are, unfortunately, no guarantee at all.

In fact, if a product hasn’t been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), it means it probably won’t work. Billboards and radio ads making you feel terrible about yourself are not your friends, either – friends make you feel better about yourself.

So start with your doctor, and he can confirm what is normal and what is not. It is your penis, after all, and you should only put it in hands you trust!
 

 Penis enlargement

For more information, see Penis Enlargement.


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Posted On: 3 May, 2010
Modified On: 16 January, 2014

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