Jared J Wallen MD is a board-certified urologic surgeon and men’s sexual health specialist performing ventral phalloplasty procedures for patients in Tampa and Brandon, FL
Who is a candidate for ventral phalloplasty?
Reasons for performing a ventral phalloplasty include:
- Increasing perceived phallic length during:
- penile implant surgery
- partial penectomy for penile cancer
- Releasing a tethering penoscrotal web which can cause pain during intercourse
What happens during the procedure?
Dr. Wallen will put the penis and scrotum on stretch after cleaning and draping and anesthetizing the patient with local numbing medication and a light sedative. He will then mark out approximately one finger breadth from the bottom side ventral aspect of the phallus and ensure that there’s adequate skin coverage. In the setting of a penile implant surgery, the surgeon typically would mark out two finger breaths in this area to allow for adequate coverage with the implant fully inflated. Adequate dissection of the skin edges with Bovie cautery as well as the underlying Dartos tissue allows us to remove the penoscrotal web.
Initially, the checkmark incision is carried out towards the Allis clamp at the ventral bottom aspect of the scrotum. However, this is only to ensure that there is a redundant scrotal tissue and ensure that there is adequate coverage of the testicles bilaterally. In the setting of a penile implant certainly more tissue may need to remain to cover the penile implant pump as well.
Care is taken while dissecting the redundant penoscrotal web tissue away from the underlying soft tissues and skin to ensure the best cosmesis possible.
After the penoscrotal web is completely removed, the wound bed is irrigated with copious amounts of irrigation fluid to ensure that no infection develops in the wound bed. Dr. Wallen will then begin the multi-layer reconstruction of the wound bed with multiple suture layers throughout the entirety of the wound.
The multiple layers of sutures and skin glue over the top of the skin helps ensure the best cosmetic result.
What happens after the procedure?
Patients are asked to avoid anything that would potentially compromise the skin incision for up to 3 to 4 weeks while the incision heals. This includes:
- Sexual activity
- Masturbation
- Anything where he would submerge the skin incision in water such as a bath, pool, hot tub, or ocean
Patients should otherwise shower normally after 48 hours and follow a normal, healthy diet while the wound is healing. They can also certainly follow a light-duty course of exercise until the incision is completely healed.
