India helps world to affordably ‘keep it up’

A 60-year-old from Dubai, with a flaccid penis, found himself in a plush private hospital in Mumbai. When Viagra didn’t help anymore, Dr Vinod Vij, a cosmetic surgeon at Fortis Hospital, Vashi, brought hydraulics to his patient’s rescue.

The procedure involved attaching artificial sacks that mimic the scrotum to either side of the sexagenarian’s penis. “These sacks are filled with saline, and a tube connects them to the penis. When the sacks are pressed, the saline rushes to the penis raising it using hydraulics. Once done, the sacks are rotated, the saline flows back into the sack and the penis relaxes,” says Dr Vij.

Male genital rejuvenation procedures can cost from Rs 3-7 lakh. With India being one of the leading countries offering advanced medical facilities at an affordable costs, many make their way to our hospitals for such procedures.

Men in the age group of 38-65 opt for such procedures.

Dr Mohan Thomas, a cosmetic surgeon at Breach Candy Hospital, says he sees up to 16 cases annually.

Take the simplest Rs 3 lakh procedure—it involves inserting rigid silicone pieces inside the penis through cosmetic surgery. Simple, effective but a tad uncomfortable, the silicone pieces keep the penis in an erect position permanently. Though it is a tad inconvenient to fit the penis in their underwear and walk about (you wear it upright, pointing at the navel), doctors say this inconvenience is negligible compared to the satisfaction of being back in the sack. “The oldest patient to opt for a permanent erection was 78,” says Dr Thomas.

Some requests also stem from dissatisfaction about size. “We put a graft around their penis to increase the size,” says Dr Vij. “And inject fat into the organ to increase the girth. There are also procedures like ligament-release that increase the length 1-2 centimetres,” he says.

There is dissatisfaction to be addressed in the feminine world, too. The main concern, though, is superficial—to beautify the vulva and vagina. A 22-year-old wanted the doctors to fix her protruding labia minora (the smaller inner folds of the vagina). Doctors recommended to have the excess fat sucked out. “A laser procedure to remove pigmentation spots from the vagina to make it look fairer is also popular,” says Dr Vij.

“Mostly, women in the age group of 20-55 come for female genital rejuvenation procedures,” says Dr Thomas, “Multiple pregnancies make the vagina loose, so we conduct a labiaplasty; that’s injecting fat and tightening the tissue.”

This vaginal rejuvenation helps women experience more pleasure during sex, and Dr Thomas sees up to 10 women opt for it every year. The fat injections cost up to Rs 50,000 per sitting. Another pleasure-enhancing procedure is injecting fat two to three centimeters into the vaginal canal, into the G-spot.