IS BIGGER REALLY BETTER?

From penile fillers and implants to testicular Botox – men are resorting to an array of painful cosmetic procedures to boost their manhood. But what drives them to do it and what happens when things go wrong? 

- MICHAEL ODELL

EVERYONE knows the Covid lockdowns were hard on our mental health. So much soul-searching and rumination. Where's my life going? Is this the person I want to spend the rest of my life with? But London-based consultant urologist Gordon Muir noticed something else - a lot of men started examining themselves in the bathroom mirror and asking: is this the penis I want to spend the rest of my life with? 

“During Covid a lot of young men were watching hours and hours of porn and, at the same time, not being properly socialised. As a result they were comparing themselves with porn stars who, statistically, are outliers.

“It’s like watching basketball all day and then deciding, ‘I should be 6ft 6in [198,12cm] tall’. Next thing is, they’re booking themselves in for penis-enlargement surgery. Of course, with the recovery time afforded by working from home, it led to a lot of misguided butchery.” 

The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has reported a significant rise in both surgical and non-surgical procedures globally since the pandemic. More breast implants and butt lifts. More surgical and non-surgical penile enlargement too.

One well-known clinic in London, Moorgate Andrology, says demand for “fillers” has been huge. “Lockdown closed us for a bit but when we reopened, demand for fillers went through the roof,” the clinic’s Michael Mills says. 

Most days Muir is helping men with serious post-cancer or erectile-dysfunction treatments. But his other job is flying all over the world fixing disastrous cosmetic penis work.