A 35-year-old New Jersey man known only as Tom has become one of the first three men in the United States to undergo an experimental cosmetic procedure that uses processed fat from deceased donors to enlarge the penis, according to a Daily Mail report from inside the clinic where the treatment took place.
Urologist Dr Stuart Diamond performed the procedure, injecting the filler beneath the skin of Tom's penis with a half-inch needle in roughly a dozen doses over 10 to 15 minutes, then massaging the area to distribute the fat evenly. The full procedure lasted about 45 minutes.
"I'm thrilled!" Tom said afterward. "It looks great!"
What is alloClae
The product used, called alloClae, takes fat donated from deceased people, processes and purifies it, and packages it as an off-the-shelf filler that clinics can inject without the patient needing liposuction to supply their own fat, as traditional fat-transfer procedures require.
Donated human tissue is already widely used in medicine, including bone, skin and tendons in reconstructive surgery. Fat is considered an attractive filler because it feels soft and natural and can become incorporated into the body's own tissue, unlike conventional dermal fillers.
The most common existing technique for penis enlargement uses dermal filler made from hyaluronic acid, the same substance used to plump lips, which adds girth rather than length. Dermal fillers are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in areas such as the lips, cheeks and chin, but not for injection into the penis.
Cost and risks
The alloClae procedure costs between $8,000 and $12,000 and is entirely cosmetic, with no medical necessity, according to the report. Potential complications include injury, scarring, infection and angled erections, and injected filler material can migrate or collect unevenly, leaving the penis lumpy or misshapen.
Doctors say demand for cosmetic penis enlargement has grown in recent years. Surveys suggest about half of men worry about their penis size, although doctors say almost all have no medical reason to.
Tom's results
Before the procedure, Tom's penis measured four inches when stretched while flaccid, the standard measurement doctors use to assess penis size and diagnose conditions such as micropenis, defined in an adult as a stretched flaccid length under 3.7 inches. That put Tom below the average stretched length of 5.2 inches but above the micropenis threshold.
After the injections, his stretched flaccid length rose by half an inch to 4.5 inches. The bigger change was in girth, the main target of the procedure, which increased from 3.5 inches, around average, to 5 inches.
A lifelong insecurity
Tom said he first became self-conscious about his size as a teenager in baseball changing rooms. "It was in the baseball changing rooms when I first looked and thought, hey, mine's shorter than everyone else's," he said. "No one ever commented, but it made me feel weird to take my pants off. Normally, I would rush to put them back on quickly." He said the feeling recurred in changing rooms during his time in the military, even though no one ever commented.
Tom has been married to his childhood sweetheart for 16 years and the couple have three children, aged 14, 12 and six. He had a vasectomy a few years ago after deciding their family was complete, but his concern about his penis size persisted. His penis had always functioned normally and no partner had ever criticised its size, he said.
He said he decided to pursue treatment this year after coming across a Daily Mail article about the experimental New Jersey procedure. "After seeing that article, I said screw it, why not?" he said. "I only live a few hours away from the clinic."
Inside the clinic
The treatment is offered by Dr Diamond at NDA Medical Spa, about a 10-minute drive outside Philadelphia, which he co-founded with his wife, dietitian Noelle Diamond.
Tom first had a consultation with Dr Diamond to discuss the risks and his goal of increasing thickness rather than length. During the procedure, an antiseptic solution was applied and Dr Diamond drew two purple guide lines along the top of the penis before administering injections of the local anaesthetic lidocaine.
"I felt a bit of pressure to start off, but then there was nothing," Tom said. "When I got a tattoo, the pain was much worse," he added, gesturing to a tattoo on his right leg. Dr Diamond said he repeatedly moved around the table to view the penis from Tom's own perspective. "It's important for me to look at the penis from the patient's view," he said. "I need to know where any asymmetries may be." Tom remained conscious and able to hold a conversation throughout.
Recovery and how long it lasts
Tom was told to wait two weeks before having sex again, to allow the filler to settle, and was sent home with creams and ointments to apply daily for two weeks to reduce infection risk.
Because the technique is new, no one knows for certain how long alloClae will last when injected into the penis. Studies of similar donor-fat products used elsewhere on the body have shown they can retain volume for at least six months, and one patient reportedly still had results after eight years, though long-term data remain limited. Dr Diamond said he expects the effects in the penis to last at least a year.
Leaving the clinic, Tom said he was excited by the results. "I'm sure my wife will be thrilled too," he said. "My phone's already buzzing, she's asking how it went." He said he is looking forward to a family vacation to Florida next month, where he plans to wear swim shorts with confidence.
