More men seeking extra inches, says doc

A Jamaican doctor who performs penile enhancement procedures is warning men to think carefully before going under the needle, saying the treatment is not suitable for everyone and can cause serious complications if improperly performed.

Dr Joshua Daye, operator of Juvaura Medical Aesthetics and Wellness, says penile fillers have become increasingly popular in Jamaica over the past two years, with more men seeking the cosmetic procedure.

Men dealing with erectile dysfunction should also think twice before considering enlargement, according to Daye.

“You can have erectile dysfunction, so if you have that and you put fillers in there, it is going to make it worse,” he said.

“So you have to be careful. Not all patients are good candidates for fillers. If you have a big penis and it is not working, we have to optimise the patient first.”

That, he said, is why a proper medical assessment should precede any procedure.

“A consultation is extremely important and it must only be done by a licensed medical doctor,” Daye said.

The aesthetic and anti-ageing physician says he has seen a steady rise in the demand for penile enhancement procedures over the past couple of years.

“More men are becoming more interested in the procedure, so I have done quite a bit,” he said.

But Daye is quick to stress that simply believing a penis is too small does not necessarily mean there is a problem.

“I think it’s personal,” he said, explaining that what one man considers small may be viewed differently by another.

He also draws a sharp distinction between cosmetic concerns and micropenis, a recognised medical condition.

“If the person thinks it is small, then it’s small; if they think large, it is large. But we do have a medical condition that we call micropenis and that’s totally different from what we are trying to address here,” he said.

Micropenis is a medical condition defined by an abnormally small penis that is significantly below the average size for an adult male.

Michael Phillips, 38, from North Carolina, was diagnosed with a micro penis last year. His member measures 0.38 inch, the smallest in the world.

Daye notes that his area of expertise does not involve fixing micro penises but rather helping men who are insecure about their sizes to feel better about themselves. His procedures involve inserting penile fillers to produce the desired cosmetic effect. However, Daye says they are not without risks.

“Some of the side effects that you can have [are] lumps, meaning that the filler has not been dissolved in the area where you place it [and] unevenness depending on the type of filler you use,” he explained.

But the consequences can become far more serious when the wrong product is used or the injection is improperly placed.

Daye says the penis is packed with nerves, blood vessels and other delicate structures, making precise knowledge of its anatomy critical to avoiding potentially serious complications.