Surgical Techniques for Penis Girth Enhancement
Penis girth enhancement through autologous fat injection
Autologous (i.e. harvested from the patient) fat injection for penis girth enhancement is the most widely used technique and our preferred method in terms of safety and achieving the required results. It can be performed under local anaesthesia (although general anaesthesia or sedation is preferable) and is comprised of three simple steps:
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Abdominal/Thigh Fat Suction (Harvesting Autologous Fat)
This is the first step where, from an appropriately identified area, fat cells are harvested from your body through a micro-incision using a special cannula.
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Fat Preparation
After the fat has been harvested, it is specially processed so as to remove any non-fat tissue. This ensures that the post-surgery survival of fat inside the penis is maximized and the girth gain is retained.
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Fat Injection in the penis
The fat is injected through a small incision on the penis. This step is where extensive doctor expertise and experience makes all the difference. How the fat is injected will determine the aesthetic outcome. The aim is to have a natural looking penis (relative to the glans), with evenly distributed girth. Unfortunately, most doctors still perform the initially developed technique that was first introduced 20 years ago and for this reason, they often report uneven results and hence reject autologous fat injection. We have introduced two very simple steps that resolve this problem:
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The fat is injected through a very thin injector. In this way, we filter out the larger fat cells that are responsible for the so-called granulomas (fat lumps), which are aesthetically unpleasant
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We induce an artificial erection and then inject the fat. This ensures that the fat is distributed evenly in both the erect and flaccid state of the penis
On average, an increase of around 30% in penis girth can be achieved. Nonetheless, in some patients, the initial impressive results may subside as time passes by. Whether this happens and by how much is unfortunately unpredictable but can be minimized with good postoperative care.
The advantages of autologous fat transfer are summarized as follows:
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This is the technique most widely performed and experienced doctors can achieve aesthetically superior results, with an average penis girth increase of 30%
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It is minimally invasive, can be performed under local anaesthesia and there are no significant complications
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The patient’s own cells are used and as such there is no risk of material rejection
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Rehabilitation is usually very short and normal sexual activities can resume around 4-6 weeks after the procedure.
Surgical Placement of a Fat Graft Around the Penis
Instead of injecting fat in the penis, an alternative technique is the surgical placement of a fat graft (a fat graft is a layer of fat with the skin attached to it). The fat graft is initially harvested from the patient’s buttocks, the penis is then de-gloved and the graft sutured around the penis giving an increase in girth.
The advantage of this technique is that the distribution of fat is more evenly spaced than an autologous fat injection. However, there are significant disadvantages:
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It is a long operation lasting around 3 hours since not only does the graft need to be harvested (usually from the buttocks of the patient) but also penile degloving and regloving is necessary.
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It results in significant scarring at the donor site
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The chances of the graft being infected are higher than that of fat injection
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The graft might shrink post operatively and lead to penis retraction and loss of length
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It is not repeatable and it is difficult to remove if there are any complications.
Although complications are rare, we do not believe that the potential advantage of this type of technique (compared to the fat injection) are significant enough so as to justify the extra risks and costs involved.
Surgical placement of silicon sleeve around the Penis
A similar technique is the surgical placement of a silicon sleeve (see picture) around the penis instead of a fat graft.
The advantages of the silicon sleeve is that there is no risk of absorption of the fat and the increase in girth is evenly placed across the penile shaft. However, there are also significant disadvantages:
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The silicon sleeves are expensive
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The risk of infection is high
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The feel of the penis in the flaccid state is not as natural
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Excess fibrosis around the sleeve can lead to penile retraction, development of curvature and loss of erect length
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There is a risk of the silicon sleeve perforating the penile skin during intercourse
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Recovery time is significantly longer
Girth augmentation through tissue engineering with biodegradable scaffolds
Instead of implanting “formed” tissue under the penis skin, this technique uses a tube-shaped (similar to the silicon sleeve in shape) biodegradable spongy material (PLGA), which is then soaked for 24 hours in a liquid containing the patient’s own cells.
The tubes are then placed under the penis skin. However, these tubes are not what give the gain in girth. They only serve as a basis to keep the patient’s own cells in place, which as time passes, form permanent penis tissue – the tubes themselves are completely absorbed (the material is exactly the same as that used for absorbable stitches). Whereas this technique sounds attractive in theory and for the first six months until the scaffolds are absorbed the results are impressive, in practice the new tissue that forms is only a very thin layer of fibroblasts (cells that form the scar tissue). Hence, in our opinion, the long-term gain is very minimal, whereas the whole process is quite complicated and expensive.
I would like to increase the size of my penis. What should I do next?
If you are looking to increase the size of your penis, we advise that you book a consultation with one of our highly experienced doctors. During this consultation, our doctor will examine you and explain all possible treatments options in detail, discuss the size you wish to achieve and answer any questions you may have.