31 March 2024 , 06:40
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A leading UK physician has laid bare the horrifying suffering of men suffering appalling problems after travelling abroad for penis enlargement surgery – and says the problem has got worse since lockdown.
Dr Gordon Muir says scores of patients have turned up at his Harley Street clinic looking to reverse horrendous work carried out by 'charlatans' operating in countries like Turkey. But in many cases, the problems caused are irreversible. And the surgeon believes the surge in demand for enhancement is down to many men having turned to pornography during the boredom and isolation of the Covid lockdown, leaving them feeling inadequate.
Penis 'enhancement' or enlargement surgeries - which typically involve injections of filler directly into the penis - are incredibly high risk, he explained, and "most" men who have them suffer a bad outcome. The cosmetic procedure can result in botched, misshapen and painful genitals, and in the worst case scenario, some men may never see full function restored to their penis ever again - even with secondary surgery to treat the complications.
Dr Gordon Muir says he treats men with 'catastrophic' complications with penis enlargement at his Harley Street clinic (Gordon Muir)Any visible changes in length also tend to be modest, and only appear when flaccid, not erect. Permanent nerve damage and scarring are common, and a "substantial minority" are left with erectile dysfunction. Describing the horror stories he's seen turn up in his restoration clinic, the expert andrology doctor told the Mirror: "The majority of men who have this surgery have a bad outcome - and some men who have this surgery have catastrophic outcomes, including losing penile function. Unfortunately what they end up with is the penile ligament being cut, so the penis doesn't function very well.
"They have fat, or even stuff like Vaseline and silicone - which is a complete disaster - injected into the penis, and it usually looks as if a dog's been at it after that." The work required to restore the penis from this state is "very difficult", he said, and usually involves circumcising those who have had fillers injected which have begun to erupt from the foreskin. More complex operations require the filler to be surgically removed, and there is no guarantee the organ can be restored its previous state.
Many victims of botched surgeries are men who wrongly believe that their penises are much smaller than the average, and it is thought pornography has played a role in skewing ideas of sizes. Some men are also enticed by websites promising a "perfect" penis that do not explain the high risk of potentially lifelong complications.
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A particularly noticeable wave of younger men with horror penis enhancement complications started appearing at Dr Muir's clinic after the Covid pandemic, and he explained: "A lot of young men were stuck at home over lockdown, and the only other men they saw were pornstars. Of course, you don't get a job as a pornstar if you have an average-sized penis, in the same way you don't get a job as an NBA basketballer if you're 5ft 9 - even though that's a completely normal height."
A noticeable increase in patients came after the Covid lockdown, and the doctor said pornography consumption was likely a factor (WalesOnline/Rob Browne)While private surgeons do offer so-called penis enhancement surgeries in the UK and many other countries, the current trend of patients having cheap botched jobs in Turkey began "about ten years ago", Dr Muir said, and has been on the increase ever since. Though he is keen to stress that there are a lot of "magnificent" and skilled doctors in Turkey, he believes there is a worrying lack of important psychological checks being carried out by clinics before people fly there for surgery.
He said: "In a lot of places, the patient will see not a counsellor, not a surgeon, but a salesperson first. The doctors who work there are either the proprietors of the clinic or are employees that are paid for the number of operations they do.
"Very, very few patients have proper informed consent, which would involve being seen by a psychologist or psychiatrist first of all to ensure they don't have psychological issues, and an honest assessment of the complications involved. They [patients] never have that, and most people would not go for this kind of surgery if they had any idea of what the likely outcome would be. I'm not aware of any clinics in Turkey that provide psychological support."
Despite concerns being repeatedly raised by experts in the medical field, paid adverts for private penis enlargement surgeries are still displayed on prominent search engines in the UK. Asked what he thought of doctors who perform them without adequate patient checks or explanation of the risks, Dr Muir said: "I would put the doctors performing this surgery in jail, most of the time. It's negligence that amounts to criminality. They're charlatans, and they're preying on vulnerable, usually young, men."
Turkey has become an increasingly popular destination for many different kinds of low-cost cosmetic surgery over recent years - but for some Brits, the consequences have been fatal. In January, Morgan Ribeiro, 20, died this January when she developed sepsis on a flight home from Turkey, where she had been for weight loss surgery. Her mum Erin Gibson, 44, did not know her 20-year-old daughter was flying abroad to have the procedure.