Men have gone to great lengths (pun intended) searching for ways to increase the size of their penises. While techniques vary from wearing penile weights, using vacuum devices and undergoing penile lengthening surgery, the goal is always the same -- to have a larger penis.

Like breast implants, penile lengthening surgery is cosmetic surgery that promises to make your penis larger; however, it has never been endorsed or approved by the American Urological Association.

What the promotional information and advertisements for penile lengthening surgery won't tell you is that the numerous risks of this procedure by far outweigh the minimal benefits.

Penile lengthening surgery was initially developed and utilized for people with congenital abnormalities, including micro phallus or bladder exstrophy. The surgery was not originally intended for widespread use for cosmetic enhancement. Unfortunately, a whole industry of penile plastic surgery has emerged, targeting the countless men who are unsatisfied with their penis size. But there have been several problems.

Many physicians who open penile enhancement centers and advertise their services in magazines and gay newspapers get flooded with men searching for a larger phallus. Of the thousands of men who've been operated on, many have complained of disfiguring results. Consequently, as often as these centers have opened, they've closed. Many surgeons have lost their licenses and/or are no longer practicing medicine.

How does it work?

Penile enlargement surgery involves four procedures, none of which actually elongate your penis. The first involves cutting the penile suspensory ligament, which holds your penis to the pubic bone. Cutting this ligament lets your penis fall away from your pubic bone, giving it greater exposure. The downside to this surgery is that your penis is unhinged from the pubic bone, so your penis loses its anchor. When erect, your penis points down, which frequently causes difficulty maintaining an erection during intercourse. In addition, sensory nerves to your penis are often damaged or cut during the surgery because the nerves run through the ligament area at the base of the penis.

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The second part of a lengthening procedure is a Y-V or Z plasty on the pre-pubic skin. This is a fancy name for an operation that adds skin to the base of your penis. This "added" skin is necessary to cover the unhinged part of your penis, and lets it hang down further. Even though these incisions are made in areas covered by your pubic hair, ugly scars and loss of pubic hair frequently result. Scar contraction (shrinkage) and keloid formation are other common side effects to this part of the surgery.

The third aspect of penis enlargement surgery is the enhancement of penile girth. This was initially accomplished by injecting fat under your penile skin. It may sound great, but it didn't work well because the fat gets rapidly absorbed by your body in some areas, but not in others -- so you're left with a "lumpy-bumpy" penis. Subsequent attempts to increase penile circumference employ bands of fat harvested from one part of your body, which are then sewn onto your penis shaft. It gets worse: the skin on your penis must be peeled back before the fat can be sewn to the shaft. After this is done, the surgeon pulls your skin back down to cover the fat. Often you'll end up with a lumpy-bumpy penis when varying amounts of fat get absorbed back into your body. Scarring often persists, which leaves an irregular penis.

The final component of enlargement surgery is pre-pubic liposuction, which gives the impression of a larger penis in the face of a flatter stomach. It was originally utilized to harvest fat for injection under penile skin as well as for flattening a paunchy pre-pubic area.

Does it work?
In essence, this surgery only provides the appearance of a larger penis; nothing is done to actually add length. It's only an illusion, at best, and a very expensive illusion at that. Pre-pubic liposuction does provide some cosmetic improvement if you have a fat paunch. Even so, these procedures carry high risks of scarring, disfigurement and desensitization of your penis.

Do not be fooled! Do not do it! You are more apt to end up with a disfigured penis than a larger one.

Key Points
There are high risks associated with penile enlargement surgery, and little benefit to be gained.

Don't do it!