This is a common questions amongst individuals looking at phalloplasty and penis enhancement procedures. Please see 2 of our respected doctors answers below! To learn more or join in the conversation, please set up an account and participate in our forum!
Dr. Solomon:
I perform Surgimend graft surgery (similar to Alloderm & Belladerm). Alloderm and Belladerm (among others) come from human sources. In particular, Alloderm is a donation from someone who has died while Belladerm often comes from remnants of abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) tissue that is removed at surgery. Human dermis is then prepared from these materials. Human dermis varies in thickness depending upon what part of the body it is from and the age of the donor. Human dermis gets thinner with age. As a rule, the thickest human dermis is not more than 2 mm and on average about 1.5 mm. Surgimend comes from fetal calf tissue. This has several advantages. It has never been exposed to bacteria, so it is sterile. Calf dermis is thicker than human dermis. This tissue is cut by machine. So its thickness is uniform and because calf dermis is thicker than human dermis, it is available in thicknesses from 1 to 4 mm.
My average Surgimend graft is 3 mm thick. This seems to be the "sweet spot" between giving a good result while allowing it to revascularize in a reasonable amount of time. I have used 4 mm grafts in some patients, as well as 2 mm grafts in some.
You can have a second wrap, but recovery is long and in several cases, the penis has been almost too thick for comfortable intercourse. I warn patients about these issues before performing additional girth enhancement.