A first in Belgium: 'normal' penis reduced (http://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20181122_03974583)

The article's from a Belgian newspaper, so it's in Dutch. Google-assisted translation follows.

A 48-year-old Belgian with a normal-length penis, which also functioned perfectly, has undergone surgery at the university hospital CHU Liège. The man wanted a size smaller and got that too. It would be a Belgian first.

Eleven centimeters at rest, about 16 cm in erection. That was the length of the man's penis before the operation. That happened last year, but only became publicly known now. There was no medical reason. The man had no erectile dysfunction and his sex life was satisfying. Yet he wanted a smaller penis. However, sixteen centimeters is not abnormally large. The average in Flanders (in erection) is fourteen centimeters.

"For ten years he was looking for someone who wanted to carry out the operation," says surgeon Robert Andrianne. 'We invented the technique for him. Because nowhere was described how this could best be done with someone with a normal penis. '

After the operation, the member of the man remained five centimeters at rest and nine in erection. Also the size is reduced, just like that of the scrotum. "The patient wanted everything to be in proportion."

And a little longer?

Such a reduction would be a first in our country. 'A handful of cases have already been described in the US and Brazil, among others,' says Piet Hoebeke, urologist at UZ Gent. 'That involved extremely large phalluses of around 25 centimeters. I myself received the question once, but I did not go into it. "The reverse question (whether it may be something more) is something they get in Ghent more often. But a good technique to extend the penis is not there, and so it has not happened for years.

Whether the man in question helped with his reduction, Hoebeke doubts. 'Patients who regard something as abnormal and want surgery for it often suffer from a body dysmorphic disorder. That is a psychiatric disorder that does not disappear with an intervention. '

According to experts, the risk is also great that erection problems arise due to the cutting away of part of the erectile tissue of the penis. But surgeon Andrianne has found something on it. To shorten the penis, he uses a folding technique. One and a half years after the operation, his patient is still 'very satisfied' with the result. "There are no complications. On the contrary: his erections are now even harder. He was screened in advance psychologically and I explained the risks extensively. Yet he wanted to continue with it. "

The operation was not expensive. Aesthetic surgery is in principle not reimbursed, yet the universal health insurance fund partially intervened.

So 2" soft and 31/2" erect. Wonder if it's thickness is in proportion. Would look better if it was, rather than just short and fat.

I wonder if it was actually shortened or rather sort of "tucked" in. A penis enlargement doesn't actually add anything but rather re-positions the suspensory ligament. It is hard to tell from the description but the "folding" technique sounds more like a way to conceal the penis rather than actually shorten it (i.e. remove material). It makes sense because if you actually severed the penis to shortening it you'd have to reattach it and we know that is an expensive and very skilled and involved surgery, so I doubt any doctor would embark on that for an essentially cosmetic result.

I think his comment about body dymorphia not being satisfied with an intervention is interesting but not necessarily true. There are certainly people who can't really be satisfied because their end goal is extreme (like anorexics who still want to get skinnier even when they already look like a skeleton, or women who want bigger breasts even when they are already huge and causing back problems). But I think someone with a modest idea, like a shorter penis, could in fact be satisfied. Transgender reassignments certainly can have very positive results for example.