The penis is considered a small penis, the length of which in an erect state does not exceed 9.5 cm. A penis that reaches an erection of 2 cm or less is commonly called a micropenis. According to statistics, approximately 80% of men are dissatisfied with the fact that they have a small penis, the methods of correcting this problem are different and depend primarily on the degree of deviation from the norm and its causes.
The content of the article:
Causes of the small penis
Diagnosis of the syndrome of the small penis
Treatment of small penis syndrome
Small penis
Causes of the small penis
The small penis is often a congenital anomaly. But sometimes patients face a problem when the penis has become smaller as a result of illness or injury. The growth of the penis, which occurs during puberty, is primarily affected by the production of testosterone. If an insufficient amount of this hormone is produced in the testicles, a man has a problem with a small penis. It can also occur due to the absence of 5-alpha-reductase. This enzyme is responsible for the conversion of testosterone into 5-alpha-dihydrotestosterone, which increases the activity of penis growth.
Insufficient penis length can provoke various congenital diseases. Among them are Del Castillo, Pasculani, Maddock, Noonan, Klinefelter syndromes, as well as anarchism, cryptorchidism, craniophryngioma.
The lack of estrogens, and therefore the small size of the penis, can be observed due to inflammation, trauma or testicular tumors, various effects on them (temperature, radiation, as a result of drug exposure), adrenal tumors, diabetes mellitus, as well as lesions of the pituitary gland and hypothalamus of various nature.
Together with the symptom of a small penis, an adult man or teenager in the puberty period may develop symptoms such as:
female body type (shoulders are narrower than hips);
insufficient growth of hair on the face, in the groin area, under the arms;
overweight;
depressed state;
mental retardation;
insufficient testicular diameter;
defects and anomalies of any organs and systems of the body.
These factors, combined with the small size of the penis, may indicate a lost reproductive function, as well as lead to the inability to conduct a full sexual life.
In adulthood, a man may face the fact that his penis has shrunk due to Peyronie’s disease (compaction causes curvature and reduction of the penis), or after the introduction of an erection-promoting drug into the penis. Psychological problems may also be the cause.
Preventive measures that help to avoid the syndrome of the small penis include:
proper lifestyle of the mother during pregnancy (exclusion of hormonal drugs, bad habits);
enhanced control in the presence of this syndrome in the anamnesis of relatives;
avoiding injuries to the genitals, excluding uncontrolled injection of drugs into the penis to enhance erection;
hormonal background control (especially after 45 years);
body weight control and the use of techniques to combat stress.
Diagnosis of the syndrome of the small penis
First of all, it is important to diagnose congenital pathologies as early as possible, which lead to insufficient growth of the penis in a boy and, as a consequence, cause problems of reproductive function in men. Treatment started before the age of 14 is most often effective, with time the chances become less. Therefore, boys should be examined not only by a pediatrician, but also by a urologist. This will increase the chances of detecting implicit signs.
The initial stage of diagnosis is the correct measurement of the penis. To do this, the norm indicators are taken into account, which depend on age, race and other factors. To obtain accurate results, it is necessary to comply with the conditions. The room should be warm enough, measurements are made immediately after the patient has undressed. In a calm state, the penis is measured along the upper surface, it is placed so that it is perpendicular to the trunk. An adult male should have a penis size of at least 7.5 cm. It is also important to measure the length during an erection. If the erection is insufficient, the data will be inaccurate. Therefore, measurements should be carried out by a specialist.
It is impossible to assess the correspondence of the growth of the penis in a child, relying only on normative indicators. A urologist or andrologist is guided by various aspects when taking measurements and examining. Consultations of an endocrinologist and a geneticist are not excluded.
The following studies are being conducted:
blood plasma analysis for hormones;
spermogram;
genetic research;
radiation diagnostics in order to identify neoplasms, inflammatory processes.
Treatment of small penis syndrome
After the specialist confirms that the patient has such a syndrome as a small penis, correction methods are selected by the doctor taking into account the wishes of the patient. Their goal is not only to bring the length of the penis in line with the norm, but also to take various measures to ensure a full sexual life and reproductive function.
Non-surgical methods of penis enlargement are the use of external stretching devices (extenders) and vacuum devices.
The most effective today is the surgical method. Penis lengthening surgery is often combined with an increase in diameter, correction of erectile dysfunction and correction of penis deformity. To preserve or restore reproductive function, surgical interventions are combined with hormone therapy.
Indications for increasing the length of the penis surgically are:
medical: Peyronie’s disease, small penis syndrome, cavernous fibrosis, epispadias, hypospadias;
functional: buried and hidden location of the penis, membranous structure of the organ, etc.;
a man’s desire to increase the size of the penis.
The main method of surgical solution of the problem is ligamentotomy, which involves dissection of the supporting ligament of the penis. This universal method allows you to increase the size by three, and sometimes five centimeters. There are various ways of performing this operation, depending on the type of access: subcoronal, suprapubic, through the scrotum.
The dissociating operation (Perovic) involves the dissociation of the penis into cavernous bodies and the spongy body of the glans. A synthetic implant or fragments of the patient’s rib cartilage are implanted between the head and the end parts of the listed bodies. As a result, the penis increases by 3-5 cm due to the fact that the elements of the neurovascular bundle and the spongy body of the urethra are inherently capable of stretching.
The use of a synthetic implant involves the implantation of patient tissues grown on a biopolymer matrix capable of dissolution under the skin. It allows you to effectively thicken without side effects. It passes quickly, the result accurately meets expectations. Autografts are also used for this purpose, in which blood circulation is preserved. Or use flaps taken from the subcutaneous tissue of the anterior abdominal wall, inserts from autovena. One or two flaps from the donor region of the buttocks are used as transplants. A common method is in which, by liposuction, the adipose tissue above the pubis is selected and injected through an incision made in the subcoronal zone by means of a syringe, after which the desired shape of the penis is achieved manually.
It is also possible to insert a fragment of the widest back muscle under the skin of the penis.
