Fillers are everywhere now – smoothing lines, plumping cheeks, adding volume around the eyes, nose and lips in clinics up and down the country. But some men are now having fillers injected into their penises to increase their size.

These fillers often contain hyaluronic acid, a substance naturally found in the body that draws water into the tissues – which is why it can smooth wrinkles and fine lines.

When injected into the penis, it can increase girth. One Korean study found an average girth increase (flaccid) of 2.3cm, or almost 30%. However, more than half of men who had hyaluronic acid filler needed an average of 1.5 further retouch injections to “correct contour irregularities”.

One issue is that the results don’t last forever. The body naturally produces an enzyme called hyaluronidase, which gradually breaks the filler down. By 18 months, about 44% of the increase from the injection has been lost. Repeat injections are needed to maintain the effect.

In situations where filler injections have gone wrong, this does also mean that the effects can be reversed with hyaluronidase injections, although this takes a few hours to work.

Research is........

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