Webbed Penis Treatments
Cosmetic Treatments for the Scrotum
Cosmetic augmentation and redesigning of the scrotum can play a huge role in the improved appearance and sexual performance of the penis. Morganstern Health offers a number of pathways to resolve scrotal-related penile issues.
Penoscrotal Webbing Repair
What is Penoscrotal Webbing?
It’s manifested when the full thickness scrotal skin adheres and extends on to the ventral penile skin. It is also sometimes referred to as “webbed penis,” penoscrotal fusion, turkey neck or penis palmatus.
What Causes Webbed Penis?
Webbed penis can be either an acquired or congenital condition. The acquired version most commonly occurs from a less than ideal circumcision performed at infancy where the delivering physician was too aggressive in the removal of the ventral penile skin on the underside of the penis and thus ends up having to pull the scrotal skin into the penis shaft. In severely botched circumcisions the penis can actually become contracted into the scrotum which causes a secondary phimosis (commonly referred to as a trapped penis) Some patients are simply born with a deformity where the point of attachment between the scrotum and penile shaft is abnormal. (also known as congenital penoscrotal webbing)
Impact of Penoscrotal Webbing on the Penis
A webbed penis causes several detriments to patients afflicted with the disorder:
Penoscrotal Webbing Makes the Penis Appear Shorter
A scrotal web occurs when the skin of the front wall of the scrotum gets pulled up onto the underside of the shaft of the penis; this hides a portion of the penile shaft causing the penis to appear shorter. A scrotal web is most commonly found on men who had a prior circumcision.
Effects of Webbing on Intimacy
A webbed penis can be a source of dissatisfaction with both vaginal and anal intercourse. The degree of excess skin must be maneuvered within the opening during the normal actions of intercourse, limited penetration depth and frustrating both partners. Additionally, depending upon the location of the scrotal tissue on the ventral shaft, it can trigger a downward angle during erection.
The awareness that something is not quite right or limited can cause sexual dysfunction and depression for some men. Fortunately, there’s an effective and proven remedy to this problem.
Webbing and Condom Use
One very challenging aspect of penoscrotal webbing is the limitations it can create in the practice of safe sex. Condoms are naturally designed to fit tight along the penis to ensure sexual safety for both parties. Depending on the location and mass of excess scrotal tissue on the penile shaft, applying a condom can become a huge challenge n a source of discomfort to the wearer.
Surgery to Correct Webbed Penises
Morganstern Health is able to resolve webbed penis conditions with a surgical procedure known as a ventral phalloplasty. It’s also sometimes referred to as a scrotal lift. The objective of this procedure is to create a more visually appealing angle between the base of the penis and the scrotal sack.
Penoscrotal webbing cases are often classified into two different categories by severity: mild and significant. Both types are repaired surgically and require twilight anesthesia of an epidural with IV sedation. Also, in both cases our surgeon performs a lift of the tissue which sages with age, creating a more visually appealing outcome.
Mild scrotal webbing is usually resolved using a double Z-plasty surgical procedure to elongate the missing skin and redistribute tissue. The result is a penis that appears longer. We take extra time to optimize the outcome where the previously lashed scrotal skin is positioned such that the penis will appear as long as possible versus basic urologic standards for a scrotoplasty.
In more significant penoscrotal webbing cases a double Z-plasty is combined with an anchoring at the base of the penis and scrotal sack to support the more significant excising of tissue. Care is taken to incise along the existing line down the center of the sack known as the raphe. By tracing this established line and given the nature of the scrotal tissue, the resulting scar is hardly detectable even after close examination once fully healed.
Recovery from Scrotoplasty Surgery
Penoscrotal webbing repair is an outpatient procedure and produces mild pain the morning after surgery which is treated with prescribed medications. Traveling patients are requested to stay overnight at a nearby hotel to two nights so not to stress the surgical area and trigger edema that will significantly slow healing. The sutures will start to dissolve and aftercare is usually just a matter of keeping the surgical site clean and positioning the penis upward and away from the scrotal sack to speed healing. Our surgery team recommends patients buy and adorn “tighty whitey” styled briefs during recovery to most simply keep the flaccid penis free of the recovering scrotal tissue.
Sexual activity can usually resume about three weeks post-surgery after the stitches completely dissolve and any scabbing has dissipated.