Penis enlargement

Penis enlargement is the goal of a number of men dissatisfied for with their penis size. In general, where there is a perceived problem with penis size, medical advice should be sought, rather than attempting self-treatment. Most self-treatment methods are believed to be either ineffective, dangerous or both.

A survey by many sexologists showed that almost all men who believed that their penis was of inadequate size actually had a normal-sized penis. Most sexologists believe that a desire for penis enlargement comes from some other source of anxiety (see also penis panic) or perceived lack of masculinity.

Very few men have a very small penis: this is known as a micropenis, and is a very unusual condition which will generally have been detected in early childhood. Penis-enlargement self-treatments are also not effective on this condition.

Many commercial advertisements are sent via e-mail spam, direct mail, and in sexually-oriented magazines for penis enlargement aids. These are almost universally misleading and in the case of e-mail spam, are perceived as disturbing or offensive by many recipients.

Surgical methods

An innovation in cosmetic surgery takes fat cells from elsewhere in the body and injects them below the surface of the skin of the shaft of the penis to increase the thickness (but not length) of the penis. The penile shaft normally has little or no fat, and this method results in an unnatural appearance and feel, as well as risking radical shifting of the fat injected.

A related method involves injection of silicone into the penis and scrotum. This technique can cause enormous increases in the girth of the penis (increasing the penis volume by over 900%) but is effectively irreversible and may have side effects including loss of sensation, inability to perform penetrative intercourse, scarring and deformation. Injections of other substances, including collagen, mineral oil and even KY Jelly may have similar effects, but also may cause extreme scarring and permanent disfigurement.

Another method is to cut the basal penile ligament, which can result in an apparent lengthening of the penis by up to two inches in some individuals. However, it also means that, while the penis elongates and hardens with an erection, it can no longer become truly erect, but only hangs. The results of this surgery vary greatly between individuals, with some subjects reporting no measurable lengthening at all.

A further method is to replace the two corpora cavernosa with inflatable penile implants. This is performed primarily as a therapeutic surgery for men suffering from complete impotence; an implanted pump in the groin can be manipulated by hand to fill these cylinders from an implanted reservoir in order to achieve an erection. The replacement cylinders are normally sized to be direct replacements for the corpus cavernosa, but larger ones can be implanted. However, the result is an uncomfortable stretching of the other penile tissues which can have a number of complications.

A practice that is gaining popularity in Indonesia and southern Asia is the implantation of small objects under the skin of the penis, usually close to the glans. Implanted such as Steel ball bearings, plastic pellets, semi-precious stones, rings and studs are used. The reasoning for this form of augmentation is varied: some do it for supposed magical benefits, other for "pleasing the women" although the implant (such as a ring or stud) might be removed before intercourse. Apparently many women have found it to cause pain, discomfort, bleeding, scarring, and infection more often than pleasure.

An experimental method is a complete penile transplant. With modern techniques and anti-rejection drugs, this certainly should be possible, but there has been no record of a successful attempt until very recently, when a rather unusual situation occurred in which a penis was taken from a male infant with two penises and attached to another male infant lacking a penis. The overwhelming drawback to this method, apart from the necessity to ever after take anti-rejection drugs with their side effects and restrictions in lifestyle, is the unfortunate fact that, performed on an adult, the penis then is an organ dead to the touch, which largely negates its usefulness. The ultimate consequences of the first penis transplant noted above are still unknown.

###