Let’s get the facts on the table at the outset: There is no legitimate or safe way to enlarge your penis! The size of your penis is genetically determined. It is not related to race, height, weight, shoe size, or hand size.

The size of the corpora cavernosa (the two chambers that fill with blood when the penis is erect) is predetermined by heredity. When the chambers are filled with blood at the height of stimulation, both the length and the girth are fixed. Even when surgeons implant a penile prosthesis in a patient with erectile dysfunction (such as after prostate surgery), they must custom measure and fit the implant to the exact dimension of the existing corpora.

Every day on the Internet, I (along with millions of men around the world) get a dozen or more offers to make my penis longer, wider, or more appealing. These ads are promising to “satisfy my dreams.” They offer me a magic potion or a ridiculous surgery that uses a grafting material that “guarantees” to enlarge my penis.

As my friend Thomas Lue, professor at the University of California, San Francisco, and a world-class authority on erectile dysfunction, told me, “The surgical enlargement of the penis is no more effective than taking your penis and whacking it with a large wooden mallet, which essentially results in a flattened, squashed, and mangled ‘Polish sausage’ effect.”

One type of penis enlargement surgery that has been foisted on the unsophisticated consumer who is looking to be the “biggest on the block” consists of nothing more than cutting the suspensory ligaments of the penis. When cut, these ligaments, which are attached to the undersurface of the pubic bone, give the appearance of length by allowing the penis to hang a bit lower. This effect is produced at the expense of losing the erect “angle of the dangle.” Absolutely no length is gained in the erect penis.

The other technique that claims to increase penis length and girth involves applying a grafted material (usually skin, fat, or a synthetic material) within the shaft of the penis. This technique usually leads to an unsightly deformity. Furthermore, this procedure can cause serious damage and complications.

The three oral erectile dysfunction drugs currently on the market (Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra) give one a firmer, but not a bigger, penis. There is simply no effective way to increase the length or width of the human penis. From the sincerest depths of my urologic heart, I pity the patient who tries.

The overwhelming truth is that penis size is inconsequential in most relationships. The majority of women whom I have interviewed have no preference in penis size, as long as it is firm and attached to a loving and kind person. The notion that an enormous penis is somehow a sign of manhood or will somehow magically improve your love life is a myth that is propagated without shame throughout the mass media.

If men spent less time worrying about the size of their penises and more time learning how to use what they have more effectively, then all of the hucksters selling the illusion of happiness through penile enlargement would soon find themselves justifiably out of business.

Dudley S. Danoff, MD, FACS is the attending urologic surgeon and founder/president of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Tower Urology Group in Los Angeles, California. He is the author of Penis Power: The Ultimate Guide To Male Sexual Health (Del Monaco Press, 2011) and Superpotency (Warner Books).

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