Nonsurgical Medical Penile Girth Augmentation: Experience-Based Recommendations

Abstract

Penile augmentation is increasingly sought by men who are dissatisfied with the size and/or appearance of their penis. However, augmentation procedures are still considered to be highly controversial with no standardized recommendations reported in the medical literature and limited outcome data. Nevertheless, these procedures continue to be performed in increasing numbers in private settings. Therefore, there is a need for safe, effective, and minimally invasive procedures to be developed, evaluated, and reported in the research literature. In this article, we focus particularly on girth enhancement procedures rather than lengthening procedures as penile girth appears to be particularly important for sexual satisfaction. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the common techniques to date, with a focus on the minimally invasive injectable girth augmentation techniques. Based on considerable operative experience, we offer our own suggestions for patient screening, technique selection, and perioperative care.

The COVID‐19 pandemic: Psychological and behavioral responses to the shutdown of the beauty industry

“…However, even with reduced opportunity to leave the house during COVID‐19 restrictions, participants with high dysmorphic concern continued to engage in frequent appearance‐focused behaviors. This suggests that these behaviors are not purely driven by fear of public scrutiny, but also other factors such as general stress levels, adherence to a routine, or gaining a sense of control (Oates & Sharp, 2017). Indeed, the COVID‐19 pandemic has presented many unpredictable and uncontrollable stressors (Pfefferbaum & North, 2020; Rossell et al, 2020), which could be experienced to a greater extent in the high DCQ group, who were more likely to be unemployed or psychologically distressed.…”

“…Many individuals rely on regular beauty treatments to boost selfesteem, body confidence, and reduce stress. This has been noted for nail, hair, and facial treatments (Back & Chang, 2012;Paulson, 2008), as well as nonsurgical and surgical cosmetic procedures (Castle, Honigman, & Phillips, 2002;Margraf, Meyer, & Lavallee, 2013; Oates & Sharp, 2017;Sharp & Oates, 2019). As such, the rapid closure of beauty services due to COVID-19 restrictions could have negative impacts for regular beauty service users who may have lost their usual coping mechanisms in a time of increased pandemic-related stress (Tan et al, 2020).…”

The perils of penile enhancement: case report of a fulminant penile infection

“…In an era of growing emphasis on physical appearance, there is an increasing demand for penile augmentation procedures [ 1 , 2 ]. The goal of these procedures is a symmetrical increase in penile girth in both flaccid and erect states [ 3 ].…”

“…Most men who seek these procedures have physiologically normal penises and undertake these procedures for cosmetic and psychological reasons [ 1 ]. Currently there is no recommended indication nor proposed guidelines for penile girth enlargement [ 2 ]. The American Urological Association and Sexual Medicine Society of North America have both issued policy statements indicating there is insufficient data to substantiate the safety or efficacy of penile lengthening or girth enhancement surgery [ 4 , 5 ].…”

Commentary on: Nonsurgical Medical Penile Girth Augmentation: A Retrospective Study of Psychological and Psychosexual Outcomes

“…Within the past decade, however, aesthetic procedures to improve the appearance of the genitals of both men and women have become more commonplace. Application of techniques use with other features are used on the genitals and the work is now accompanied by thoughtful discussion and research of these procedures and the patients who undergo them, including many articles in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal (1)(2)(3) The present study is an example of this growing area of scholarship (5). The investigation used a combination of questionnaires to assess theoretically-relevant psychological domains (including selfesteem, sexual relationship satisfaction, and symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder) and qualitative interviews of men who had undergone non-surgical procedures to increase penile girth.…”