Penile lengthening

Objective To describe a technique for penile lengthening and the results ac hieved. Patients and methods The penis is completely disassembled into its anatomic al parts; the glans cap remains attached dorsally to the neurovascular bund le and ventrally to the urethra and corporal bodies. A space is created bet ween glans cap and the tip of corpora cavernosa; this space is used to inse rt autologous cartilage previously harvested from the rib, the space being measured beforehand when the corpora cavernosa are erect. The anatomical en tities and inserted cartilage are joined together to form a longer penis. T he increased length of the penis depends directly on the elasticity of the urethra and especially of the neurovascular bundle. From June 1995 to March 1999 the technique was applied in 19 patients aged 18-52 years, who were f ollowed for a mean (range) of 3.3 (1-4.5) years. Results The increase in penile length was moderate, at 2-4 cm; there were n o injuries of the neurovascular bundle or urethra, and no erectile dysfunct ion. Fifteen patients reported painless sexual intercourse, the remaining f our patients providing no data. During the follow-up the cartilage insert r emained at about the same size as that at initial implantation. Conclusion The penile disassembly technique combined with the interposition of rib cartilage in the space between the glans cap and tips of the corpor a cavernosa provides a genuine increase in penile length, with satisfactory results.