How does penile thickening with autologous fat work?
In penile thickening with autologous fat, fat is removed from one area of the body and injected into the penis.
Unlike a silicone implant, which is used for example in breast augmentation and is not living tissue, the fat cells—having been forcibly removed from their original environment and thus separated from their native blood supply—must be reconnected with blood as quickly as possible in their new location in order to survive.
This blood supply is established through the ingrowth of small blood vessels from the surrounding tissue at the recipient site.
Subsequently, the transplanted fat integrates into the tissue and thereby fulfills its function of creating volume.
Penile thickening with autologous fat: details
In order for as many fat cells as possible to receive blood supply quickly in their new environment, a number of measures and technical details must be followed. Among other things, the fat must be injected in such a way that all fat cells are surrounded by recipient tissue, allowing the integration process (blood supply) to begin simultaneously for all of them. In addition, no pressure should be applied to the fat cells, as pressure inhibits the healing process. Therefore, the fat is not simply poured into a preformed cavity as with a silicone implant, but instead injected in numerous thin “spaghetti-like” strands and multiple layers, so that the penis remains soft and flexible.
We enrich the fat with the patient’s own blood platelets, which are obtained from the patient’s blood during the procedure. This increases the fat’s integration rate (by up to 25%), makes the fat more homogeneous and softer, significantly reduces the risk of nodule formation, and decreases the number of follow-up procedures required.
In the penis, the fat can only be injected between the skin and the fascia penis profunda; this space is naturally very narrow, meaning that not much fat can be introduced there—especially not during the first procedure. Once the fat from the first operation has integrated, the recipient bed becomes larger/thicker, allowing slightly more to be added during the second procedure. Therefore, with penile thickening using autologous fat, more than one operation is almost always required.
