Is fat transfer to the penis permanent?

No. Most transferred fat is reabsorbed within 3 to 12 months. A small amount may survive, often as hard nodules of necrotic fat, and repeat surgery is usually needed to maintain size and smooth irregularities.

How long does penis filler last?

Hyaluronic acid is metabolized over 12 to 18 months, by which time most patients have up to 50% of the filler remaining. Repeat treatments usually need less product.

What are the most common filler complications?

Swelling for up to a month, bruising for a week, uneven distribution that can be moulded in the first week or dissolved with hyaluronidase, rare migration and rare infection.

Fat transfer vs penis fillers

Penis Fat Transfer Filler Comparison

Two ways to add girth: your own fat, moved surgically, or hyaluronic acid filler, injected. Here is how they compare.

Surgical

Penis fat transfer

Typically $8,000 to $15,000

Plus future top-ups. Not offered by Androfill Canada.

Inject fat from the stomach into the penis

Safer than injecting permanent substances such as silicone, PMMA or paraffin, or implanting a silicone sleeve
Liposuction is part of the procedure, removing unwanted fat from the stomach
A small amount of fat may survive for years, although most is reabsorbed in 3 to 12 months
Increases flaccid penis length through the weight of the fat, making ligamentolysis unnecessary

Disadvantages

Temporary: most fat reabsorbs in 3 to 12 months, requiring further surgery
Expensive: surgical fees plus future top-ups
Irregularities: lumps, nodules of necrotic fat, scar tissue
Soft texture: "fatty", as fat feels elsewhere; the penis is surrounded by a layer of fat
Risks of surgery, general anesthetic and hospital admission
Difficult to reverse except by surgical removal
4 to 6 weeks before resuming sex

No impact on fertility · No impact on the quality or frequency of erections · No negative effects on long-term health

Non-surgical · offered in Edmonton

Penis fillers

10 to 20 ml packages

Hyaluronic acid dermal filler. Price list

Dermal filler injected beneath the skin

Safe: dermal filler has been used in the body for more than 20 years
Reversible: the filler can be altered or dissolved should it ever be required
Effective: filler procedures generally have a high rate of patient satisfaction
Texture: firm and realistic compared with fat transfer
No surgery, no hospital admission; about 30 minutes, walk in, walk out
Resume sex after 2 weeks; no time off work needed
Increases flaccid penis length through the weight of the filler, making ligamentolysis unnecessary

Disadvantages

Temporary: up to half the filler is metabolized in 12 to 18 months
Cost: priced per package volume, plus future injections to maintain the result
Irregularities are possible and may need moulding while the filler sets (first week)
Low risks of reversible dermal filler injection; see risks and complications
Too much filler, the wrong filler, or filler injected too shallow gives substandard results. The Androfill technique places filler at the correct depth and distribution

No impact on fertility · No impact on the quality or frequency of erections · No negative effects on long-term health

Androfill Canada offers hyaluronic acid penis filler only. Fat transfer is described here so you can compare it fairly; if you want fat transfer you will need a surgical clinic. Fat transfer pricing shown is indicative, based on the fees Androfill clinics have charged elsewhere.

Side by side

Other considerations

Factor	Fat transfer	Penis filler
Risk	Higher: general anesthetic, surgical complications, rare fat embolism (a death has been reported)	Low: no surgery; reversible with hyaluronidase
Durability	3 to 12 months; fat survival in the penis is low because it has no fat naturally and must establish a blood supply	12 to 18 months half-life; repeat treatments need less product
Permanent results?	Claims are misleading; surviving fat tends to form hard, calcified nodules; repeat surgery needed	No, but HA may stimulate collagen for longer-lasting results; PMMA and silicone give permanent results with serious complications and are not licensed for this use in Canada
Size increase	Typically up to 1 inch of girth; up to 2 inches with multiple surgeries	Typically up to 1 inch; up to 2 inches with a large number of injections
Texture	Soft, fatty, often lumpy	Smooth and firm with the Androfill technique
Recovery	4 to 6 weeks before sex; time off work	2 weeks before sex; no time off work
Where it fits	Largely replaced by filler for girth	Used for over 15 years in South Korea and Japan, where injections account for more than 80% of penis enlargement procedures

In detail

Why filler has replaced fat transfer for girth

Fat survival and lumpiness

Fat is living tissue. After removal from the stomach it must establish a new blood supply to survive. There is no fat in penile tissue naturally, so survival when transferred to the penis is low. Any fat that does survive is distributed arbitrarily along the shaft, with areas of survival next to areas of fat necrosis where no blood supply formed. The result is lumpiness, and in almost all cases the surgery must be repeated to smooth irregularities and maintain size.

Hyaluronic acid

A small amount of hyaluronic acid is found naturally in the penis, and throughout the body. As a filler it is metabolized over 12 to 18 months; in rare cases it is absorbed more quickly or lasts longer. The manufacturer of one leading cheek filler reports that "when treated again after 2 years, patients needed less product to achieve their results" (cheek data, not penile).

Filler: most common complications

Swelling, which can last up to one month
Bruising, about one week
Migration: rare after the first week when injected with the Androfill technique
Uneven distribution: mouldable in the first week before the filler sets; can be altered or dissolved with hyaluronidase
Infection: rare. New patients take a five-day course of antibiotics and abstain from sex

Individual results vary from person to person. Full list: risks and complications.

Estimate size gain with filler Before & after photos More on fat transfer

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