Paraffin, oil, silicone: dangerous methods of penis enlargement

Many men feel that their penis is too small, short, or thin. Fortunately, modern medicine now offers proven methods of surgically lengthening or thickening the penis using minimally invasive techniques.

However, before these treatments became routine, many men risked their health, their penises, or even their lives to fulfill their desire for a larger penis. Unfortunately, this still happens today.

In Germany, for example, a man died of blood poisoning in 2020 after his partner repeatedly injected silicone oil into his penis and scrotum at his own request.

In countries of the former Eastern Bloc and Asia, charlatans still inject silicone, paraffin, wax, oil, and other substances into men’s penises to make them larger. Men also “treat” themselves with these risky techniques. The consequences are devastating.

This dangerous method originated in Vienna during the imperial era

In fact, this dangerous practice can be traced back to the Austrian physician and surgeon Robert Gersuny, who is considered the inventor of paraffin injections.

At the turn of the 19th century, he began injecting his patients in Vienna with Vaseline, and later other mineral oils and paraffins, under the skin to model “subcutaneous prostheses.” It was not until many years later that it became clear that the material injected in this way leads to lipogranuloma—a tumor with which the organism reacts to foreign substances based on oil and wax.
A lipogranuloma often develops years after the foreign body has been introduced, but then progresses all the more rapidly. Initially, nodules form around the foreign body in the tissue, followed by inflammation, tissue death, and sometimes severe pain.

The name of this immune reaction sometimes depends on the material that triggered it: if paraffin was injected, for example, it is referred to as a paraffinoma; if Vaseline was inserted, the tumor is also referred to as a vaselinoma in the specialist literature.

Paraffinoma of the penis

The injection of paraffin, petroleum jelly, and other mineral oils for penis enlargement became a widespread practice in Europe in the first half of the 20th century. As a result, paraffinoma of the penis was unfortunately not a rare phenomenon for a long time.

Once the side effects and consequences of this “treatment” became clear, this method of penis thickening disappeared, at least in Western industrialized countries. As already mentioned, it is rare but does happen that men come to specialists with paraffinoma of the penis after self-injection or “treatment” by medical laymen.

Treatment of penile paraffinoma

When patients with complications visit a urologist or andrologist , the penile paraffinoma is usually already quite advanced. One or more surgical procedures are then performed to remove the paraffinoma as completely as possible.
In the best case, radical circumcision can remove most of the paraffinoma; in the worst case, a penectomy, i.e., amputation of the entire penis, may be necessary.

Additionally, attempts are made to support treatment with hormone injections (glucocorticoids, corticosteroids, etc.).

Since the surgical removal of the tumors can sometimes be very radical, the patient’s penis must then be corrected or
even completely reconstructed in cosmetic surgery.

Warning against dubious promises

Penis enlargement by experienced specialists is now medically possible and has become a routine procedure. Penis lengthening is possible through ligamentolysis (surgical severing of the penile ligaments). A thicker penis can be achieved through autologous fat transplantation and the use of hyaluronic acid. In the USA, a penis implant made of medical silicone is now also approved.

 If you want a larger penis, it is possible! BUT: Do not fall for false promises made by medical laymen or dubious providers abroad or unreliable websites. NEVER allow any substances or miracle cures to be injected into your penis, and do not do this yourself.
Self-treatment with tablets, capsules, dietary supplements, or creams is also strongly discouraged. At best, these have no effect; at worst, they can cause nasty side effects.

Be careful with methods for “natural penis enlargement” such as jelqing or other massage techniques: if performed incorrectly or excessively, such stretching exercises can lead to painful and serious injuries to the penis.