Risks and Complications

Hyaluronic acid dermal filler procedure “Androfill”

Androfill Consent Form 2021.01B

Link to Androfill Consent Form

Complications are usually rare and mostly mild, however you might experience:

Common (approximately 1 in 10 patients)

Bruising and tenderness usually lasting up to 2 weeks from the procedure date, including (very uncommonly), the possibility of haematoma.

 (To avoid excessive bleeding avoid Vitamin E, anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, St John’s Wort and blood-thinning medications such as Asprin for a week before and a week after the procedure).

Swelling

Swelling is a common complication of this procedure. It can take up to 2 weeks for most of the swelling to disappear. Residual swelling can last for 1 month if a large amount of filler is injected, or due to the natural healing response of the patient.

Note: Only after the swelling has gone down will you know how much size you have gained. Therefore measure your ‘after’ size a minimum of two weeks following your procedure for an accurate measurement.

Irregularity

Due to natural tissue bands under the penile skin that may be difficult to identify it might not be possible to achieve perfect symmetry in a single session.

In some cases corrections will be made, usually requiring the addition of a small amount of additional filler at the patient’s expense, during a second visit to the clinic a minimum of 2 weeks after the first session.

Filler can be moulded during the first week by the patient at home.

Additional filler can be added at the patient’s expense if further filler is needed.

Uncommon (approximately 1 in 100 patients)

Hardening of the product and the formation of a lump, nodule or granuloma.

This can occur from a few weeks following the procedure toa number of months after the procedure.

These lumps are important to resolve without significant delay. Please contact the clinic to arrange to come in and have this issue treated.

Nodules

Nodules and lumps are possible complications resulting from the use of dermal fillers. Nodules can be categorised as inflammatory or non-inflammatory.

Inflammatory Nodules

Delayed-onset nodules (from 4 weeks to 1 year or even longer) are usually inflammatory (immune responses to the filler material) and/or infection-related (including biofilm). Biofilms are widespread in nature and consist of densely packed communities of bacteria that surround themselves with secreted polymers.

Hyperpigmentation is a rare complication of dermal filler procedures. Patients with Fitzpatrick skin types IV-VI (light brown, brown to dark brown), are more likely to experience this.

Rare (approximately 1 in 1,000 patients).

Infection

Infection is the most serious complication

While rare, infections are the most serious very uncommon complication of this procedure.

Your surgeon may prescribe you precautionary antibiotics, please ensure you complete the full course.

Very rare (approximately 1 in 100,000 patients).

Allergy

An allergic reaction to Hyaluronic acid is extremely rare and is usually mild.

An allergic reaction may appear as a rash on the skin.

If this should occur and is unable to be resolved it may require the filler to be dissolved.

Higher Risk Fillers – PolyCaproLactone (PCL) Ellanse, Paraffin, Fat Transfer, Metacril / PMMA

Other fillers include the higher risk Ellanse (available at the Androfill Clinic) and PMMA (not available at the Androfill Clinic).

The main reason these other fillers are a higher risk is that they are polymer-based (plastics), and as such, they can’t be dissolved away or altered following the procedure.

Permanent fillers such as Silicone and Paraffin should never be considered due to their very high risk of complications.

Fat can be taken from the stomach and used to fill the penis, however, the results are generally unsatisfactory due to the soft texture of fat, the unpredictability of fat survival, formation of hard nodules of necrotic fat, and need for multiple fat transfer top-ups.

Fat transfer is available from the Androfill Clinic for £4,500 however is widely considered an outdated method of increasing penis girth.

Certain types of Hyaluronic acid fillers designed for body contouring may also present a high risk, such as Genefill and Hyacorp (contraindicated for use in the penis).