Under the Surface: How Safe Are Hyaluronic Acid Penile Fillers?

How Safe Are Hyaluronic Acid Penile Fillers?

Hyaluronic acid (HA) girth enhancement is enjoying its well-deserved time in the spotlight. There’s a good reason behind its growing popularity and attention.

This non-surgical penile enhancement uses something your body makes naturally (hyaluronic acid, or ‘HA’) to make you girthier. What once only plumped other parts of the body—lips, cheeks, buttocks—can now bulk up your manhood, too.

HA for girth enhancement isn’t entirely new. It’s been around for decades. Yet, the growth of this procedure has taken off in the past few years. Those who sing its praises are thrilled with the big results and little downtime.

As with any cosmetic enhancement, you’ll want to learn about its safety record and scientific backing before deciding if it’s right. This article will help you do just that: dive deeper into what makes HA fillers safe, effective, and widely regarded.

What Makes HA Filler So Great?

It Uses a Naturally Occurring Ingredient

Your body naturally produces hyaluronic acid. It’s in the lubricating synovial fluid surrounding your joints and the fluids around your eyes.

As a cosmetic enhancement, this non-surgical injection adds moisture and volume to specific body parts, like the lips, buttocks, or penis. It also helps smooth out lumpy or bumpy surfaces. It’s an excellent option for straightening crooks or anything else you might not like in the look of your penis.

It’s Semi-Permanent and Reversible

HA’s plumping effects are temporary. That’s because your body naturally metabolizes (gets rid of) it. Different bodily areas break it down at various rates due to unequal lymphatic drainage. Your face, for instance, metabolizes it faster than your penis. Girth results using HA penis filler can last an average of 3-4 years when strategically placed between two layers of tissue along the shaft of the penis.

Because it isn’t permanent, you can customize results to your liking. Your provider can erase what you don’t like with a metabolizer called hyaluronidase. Plus, you avoid expensive, painful, and time-consuming surgery.

Its Clinical Evidence and Safety Data

Hyaluronic acid fillers are FDA-approved for certain cosmetic procedures, such as facial wrinkle removal. Using it as a penis plumper is considered off-label, meaning the FDA hasn’t explicitly approved it for that purpose.

However, it is commonly and safely used off-label throughout the body, not only for girth enhancement. Specifically, its off-label use for male girth enhancement is decades old. It’s been safely and effectively plumping penises for a long time.

For more proof, check out reputable information regarding the safety and efficacy1 of HA fillers in penile enhancement. Also, read up on the American Urological Association’s (AUA)2and the Sexual Medicine Society of North America’s (SMSNA)3 ongoing research.

Its Recovery and Side Effects

HA injections create minimal downtime during recovery. You can often return to work or social events the same day (with no heavy lifting).

You may experience mild bruising at the injection site, perhaps temporary tenderness and swelling. These mild side effects generally last just a few days. Follow your provider’s after-care instructions for optimal results.

Comparing HA Fillers to Other Enhancement Methods

Reversibility matters. The last thing you want is to be stuck with a look or feel you dislike down there. You have many surgical and non-surgical options available to enhance your member. Let’s look at a few of those.

The Surgical Route

Surgical methods include:

  • Implants
  • Fat grafting
  • Suspensory ligament division

Silicone Implants

Having silicone implanted in your penis is an off-label use that’s plagued with complications and warnings. While silicone is “medical-grade,” it isn’t intended to be implanted in the body. Most don’t react well to it.

Fat Grafting

Surgeons take fat from somewhere on you (abdomen, inner thighs) and insert it into the shaft of your penis. Results vary. Common complaints include a lumpy, bumpy penis caused by non-acclimated, dying fat cells.

Suspensory Ligament Division

Surgeons cut the ligament that attaches your penis shaft to your pubic bone so that it hangs lower, giving it a longer appearance. It doesn’t make your penis wider. Plus, the ligament can reattach itself—and not necessarily in the biologically correct place. In fact, it can sometimes shorten your penis.

All these surgeries require you to undergo general or spinal anesthesia, meaning longer recovery times than non-surgical options. And here’s another thing: all surgeries are permanent. Not only do these procedures have poorer satisfaction rates, but you’re stuck with the results unless you undergo more surgeries for removal (if possible).

Non-Surgical Alternatives

We hear you: penis surgeries are scary and expensive. So, here are non-surgical alternatives to HA penis fillers:

  • Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)
  • Silicone
  • Calcium Hydroxylapatite
  • Manual and Mechanical Techniques

Poly(methyl methacrylate)

Poly (methyl methacrylate), or PMMA, is essentially an acrylic plexiglass successfully used in bone cementing and dental applications. Its use for growing girth comes with high complication and dissatisfaction rates.

Silicone Filler

Like silicone implants, silicone fillers also tend to cause more complications than they solve because the body sees this type of filler as a foreign invader. Medical-grade silicone was intended for medical devices, like masks and tubing. It was not meant to be injected into the body.

Calcium Hydroxylapatite

This crushed calcium filler mainly plumps and smooths facial and hand skin. It yields poor results when used in the penis. Many report high incidences of granulomas (hard lumps).

Manual and Mechanical

Medical professionals advise against manual and mechanical techniques, such as jelqing (manual) or traction, weights, and vacuum devices. These aren’t very effective at treating girth and can harm your penis in the process.

Read more on what the SMSNA says about how HA treatments compare with other surgical and non-surgical options.4 In short, they recommend a non-permanent and reversible solution like HA for its safety, success, reversibility (flexibility), and risk management.

Finding Quality Providers Who Put Patient Safety First

High-caliber, trusted providers care deeply about your safety and satisfaction. Type “penis filler near me” in your search browser of choice. Choose a provider with positive feedback and experience. Move on if they have no (or too few) examples of before-and-after proof. Here’s what to expect from safe, professional care:

Personalized Consultation Before a Procedure

While HA fillers have a solid reputation for girth growth, they may not fit your specific situation. A high-quality provider will assess your motivations for fillers and determine if you are a good fit for treatment.

They’ll direct you to an intervention that best suits you. For example, issues regarding erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, or body dysmorphia may require different or combined solutions.

So, be honest, raise any concerns, and have a candid conversation about what you hope to achieve from HA filler. While these fillers aren’t a catch-all solution, they are an excellent option for men whose self-esteem is affected by concerns about size or appearance.5

Informed Consent

Your chosen provider should ask questions about your expectations. They’ll thoroughly discuss HA’s risks, benefits, common results, and follow-up care for your fully informed consent.

Recovery Info

HA has very little post-procedure recovery time compared to other procedures. Your provider should give you a written after-care protocol, to include the following information:

  • No manual stimulation or sex for 7-14 days
  • No heavy lifting
  • Possible bruising that should disappear within days

HA Penis Fillers Are Safe and Effective

Here’s the bottom line: Hyaluronic acid fillers are an evidence-based, safe, and reversible penile enhancement solution. Search online scientific publications about hyaluronic acid girth treatments and providers for more proof.

1https://www.urologytimes.com/view/retrospective-review-shows-penile-girth-enhancement-fillers-induce-safe-outcomes

2https://www.auanews.net/issues/articles/2024/august-extra-2024/office-and-surgical-technologies-the-evolving-landscape-of-penile-girth-enhancement

3https://www.smsna.org/patients

4https://academic.oup.com/jsm/article/21/6/573/7656694

5https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjy108

More
articles