Penile Siliconoma / Parafinoma

DR FAIZAL ALI       

PLASTIC, RECONSTRUCTIVE AND COSMETIC SURGEON

Penile siliconoma or parafinoma is a condition in which the male genitalia most often the penile shaft and its surrounding soft tissue developed painful, hard, nodular swellings as a result of injection of various foreign materials in the futile hope of enhancing its size and sexual performance. The injection of materials such as paraffin, vaselin and more recently liquid silicone has been in practice in many parts of Asia and Eastern Europe since the 1990s. This procedure is usually performed by non-medically trained individuals of by the patient himself in conditions that are usually far from sterile. Not surprisingly most of these patients developed complications such as infection, ulcers, fistulas, nodular swellings, painful erection and impotence.

The only treatment option for these patients is surgical excision of the affected areas. Depending on the extent of involvement of the area, the penile shaft can either be closed (stitch ) directly or require reconstruction with skin grafts and flaps.

Procedure involved surgery under general anaesthesia with a few days hospital stay depending on the extent of the surgery. Recovery period can be as early as 1-2 days for minor cases to up to 2-4 weeks if skin grafting is required.

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