NO SURPRISE TO anyone who’s been living on planet Earth, but a lot of men want to have a bigger penis. The thing is, we can’t go to the gym, do three sets of dumbbell penis reps, and get a larger schlong. If it were that easy, nearly every guy would be walking around with a snake in his pants.
Still, there actually are some things you can do to get a bigger penis, but many of these procedures are not cheap and come with some serious health risks. Nevertheless, we know you're probably curious about the wild world of penis enlargement, which is why we reached out to Jessie Cheung, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist who specializes in some of these techniques. Cheung has been a dermatologist for nearly 20 years, and six years ago, she moved from doing medical dermatology to focusing exclusively on cosmetic and sexual dermatology.
In addition to standard facial cosmetic procedures, Cheung—who's based in Manhattan and Chicago—performs a slew of penis procedures, including fillers, fat injections, Bocox (that's Botox for your cock, FYI), and Emsella (a form of electromagnetic therapy that helps with premature ejaculation and erection strength.)
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We interviewed Cheung about her dermatological methods for making patients' penises bigger, longer, and even capable of lasting longer during sex.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
How many penises have you worked on in your dermatological career?
I don’t want to brag, but a lot, hundreds. As a dermatologist, I'm used to looking at skin everywhere, including the penis, anus, scrotum, and perineum, and dealing with warts, hemorrhoids, and fissures. I stopped doing medical dermatology years ago and now focus on cosmetics, hormones, and sexual health. So that brings in men who need help with their erectile function, libido, premature ejaculation, and men who have purely cosmetic issues. The big one, of course, is increasing their penis size.
What are the most common complaints men have about their penis?
Actually, I see more men who complain about erectile dysfunction instead of size, but they always say that even if they are happy with their size, they wouldn't mind more length or girth.
I’m sure you have men coming in who are obsessed with—or maybe devastated by—how “small” their penis is. What do you say to them?
I give them statistics: Numbers are facts. Interestingly, many of my men who want bigger penises have above-average length and girth. I think porn makes them lose touch with reality, just like we're seeing social media distort our perception of beauty.
But then some guys must come in with tiny penises, even micropenises. Actually, what exactly is a micropenis?
Penis length must be 2.5 standard deviations below the average for that age to be considered a micropenis. For adults, that is 9.3 cm when stretched or 3.6 inches. In my office, I consider it a micropenis if they are too short to penetrate their partner.
How often do you see folks with micropenises?
Not that often. I would say my whole career, probably two that were so small they couldn't penetrate—and that's really short. When it’s that small, they may want surgical intervention, and I don’t do penis surgeries. So because of that, I don't see many men with a proper micropenis.
Okay, now let’s talk about what you specialize in: P-shots, fillers, and beyond!
Yeah, so I perform filler injections. I also perform P-shots, which are designed to treat ED but have the additional benefit of increasing size, specifically girth. P-shots involve injecting biological substances such as Platelet-rich plasma (PRP). PRP is a source of growth factors for blood vessels and tissue, so activating the hibernating stem cells in the arteries and nerves stimulates repair and the production of healthy tissue.
P-shots start at $1800 and increase depending on the protocol used.
Can you explain how PRP works?
I’ll try not to be too technical, but we draw your blood in these special tubes. We spin it down on the centrifuge, and on the top coat, there's a layer that's kinda yellowy, that's very rich with platelets, which contains eight to ten growth factors that are good for your blood vessels, collagen, and stem cell activation. So we inject that into places where you want to turn on stem cells, whether into your scalp to grow hair, your skin to help with wound healing, or the penis to activate stem cells to make blood vessels and nerves again. That said, PRP is about 10 to 15 years old. I prefer to use exomes.
Okay, so what are exomes?
So, I perform a topical infusion of exosomes, which really is the cutting edge of regenerative medicine. Exosomes are basically little email packets of information that your stem cells secrete to turn each other on and talk to each other. And they're filled with RNA, proteins, and peptides. Exomes have hundreds of more growth factors than PRP. They're also anti-inflammatory. So I use exosomes the exact same way I use P-shots, to help with ED, functionality, and size.
Why is anti-inflammatory important when helping with penis size and functionality?
Anti-inflammation helps prevent tissue from aging. So in the case of penises, this will help you retain your functionality and erection strength as you age.
What about fat injections? How does that work? How much does it cost?
Fat is a great filler, and since fat is full of stem cells, I recommend fat for improving size and restoring erectile function. You will see increased girth and can regain lost length, both flaccid and erect.
A fat transfer to the penis is very straightforward. The injection technique is similar to how we inject the penis with regular fillers, but we are harvesting your own fat with gentle liposuction and processing the fat with PRP or exomes. I like to take fat from the pubic mound, which helps to expose more of the base of the penis to create more visible length. I call it “pulling the turtle out of the shell.”
Fat is a very cost-effective filler, and since fat functions as a natural implant, it lasts much longer than other fillers. The most significant benefit of using fat is the improvement of functionality, as the wound-healing activation of stem cells will target nerves and blood vessels to improve sensitivity and circulation. I like to transfer at least 20 mL of fat, which starts at $8,000.
Are there any risks with getting fat injections?
There are risks associated with any injection! But understanding the anatomy and potential complications will mitigate those risks. For example, you don't want any material getting into large arteries, which can cause tissue to die. You also have to respect the layers and boundaries of the penis to avoid migration of the filler (i.e., the filler all moving to one place and sitting there). Bruising, swelling, uneven appearance, and infection are potential complications that I warn my patients about.
A wild question here: Does anyone come in wanting a smaller penis? Their dick is “too” big and hurts their partners, so they want to shave off an inch or two? Is there anything you can do to help those men? Or do those men not even exist? Are they just walking around swinging that thing with a shit-eating grin?
No, I have never had a patient who asked for a smaller penis. But penises do shrink over time, as testosterone levels fall and there is a decrease in blood flow. The blood vessels and tissue scar down and get stiff, so they can't stretch and fill up with blood for a full erection. As a result, men will notice their penis looking smaller while flaccid and erect and report softer erections.
Around what age do men start seeing this?
Typically men in their fifties and sixties, though I’ve seen men coming and seeking help for their shrinkage in their thirties.
What can we do to help prevent any penis shrinkage?
Staying healthy [and] keeping your hormone levels optimized. [And you do that by] having a good quality of sleep, a healthy diet, keeping stress levels low, and not smoking. So things that are generally thought of as bad for you will negatively affect your penis size as you age.
I recently learned about Bocox (i.e., Botox for your penis). Can you tell me more?
Yes, my patients love Bocox! It helps with size and erections. Botulinum toxin works by relaxing the smooth muscle in the blood vessels of the penis. This means the blood vessels are more dilated and filled with blood at rest, so the penis hangs longer and thicker when flaccid. So it’s great if you’re a grower and not a shower. But even with an erection, the penis is even more full of blood than usual, so it is harder and may be thicker. Bocox is a relatively safe treatment. It's usually two pokes after the application of a topical numbing cream. Risks include mild bruising and swelling.
Moving onto Emsella therapy. What's that?
So it's electromagnetic therapy. Basically, you're sitting on a chair, and a powerful magnet is at the chair's base. That magnet makes your pelvic floor muscles activate. So essentially, you're doing kegel exercises, whether it be for the penis, the vagina, or the anus. For the penis, that can help with premature ejaculation, but also erection strength and even size because of the increased blood flow. We have men who do Emsella for the anus, specifically sphincter control. There's a statistic that you complete over 11,000 Kegel exercises in 28 minutes on the Emsella chair. So it's very legit, and I love using it on my patients.
Is there ever a reason why you wouldn’t work on someone’s penis to make it bigger or harder? Maybe they already have a big penis, or they’ve had too many fillers? When do you decide not to do procedures, and why?
I will refuse to treat a patient who has unrealistic expectations. Beyond that, everyone has their own desired aesthetic, so I won't judge a man if he wants to have a huge penis. To each their own!
What do you say to people who think all these procedures are “unhealthy,” and the “healthy” thing is to learn to love your body and accept the size of your penis instead of spending all this money just to add an inch?
Social media and porn have created unrealistic expectations for bodies, faces, and genitalia. It's difficult to maintain a smooth, pink anus or vagina or penis or even nipples as we age, and sexual confidence is at an all-time low. Sex is excellent for your physical and mental health and appearance, so a therapeutic procedure that encourages sexual wellness and confidence is not really up to public judgment. It's a private health issue.
What has been—I’m not trying to body shame any men—but the most unusual penis you’ve seen?
I had a patient who had filler injections done elsewhere. He had 15 syringes done in one session, and all the filler clumped up at the head of his penis. It was this huge blob. It looked like a golf ball.
So he came after it was botched to get it fixed. But didn’t want to get the filler removed. So what I did was add more filler at the shaft and base, essentially to blend it in better.
Can you share some of the most memorable responses you’ve received after doing some form of penis enlarging procedure on someone?
Aside from the usual wows, what's memorable are the stories I hear when my patients return: sex multiple times a day, getting propositioned on Snapchat, video parties, and underground fame. My patients are definitely more confident. I had one patient who was too short to penetrate his partner, and after a combination of hormones, a P-shot, and fat transfer, he was finally able to have penetrative sex!
