Testicle Implant Replacement

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had a saline testicle implant placed last year and I hate it. It feels hard as a rock and very unnatural. I would like to replace it with a softer but larger silicone testicle implant. In addition I would like to make the opposite testicle larger. I have read that there is a way to do this by wrapping it with an implant. Is that true? I read it on the internet so you never know how accurate that information is.

A: Saline testicle implants feel very firm because they are an overfilled water sac which is under tension. Conversely silicone testicle implants are very soft and squishy because they are made of a low durometer solid silicone material. There is no question that silicone testicle implants feel a whole lot softer than saline ones. I will have to compare the largest silicone implant with that of saline to make sure it is bigger. But I would have confidence that it would be since the largest silicone testicle implant is up to 4.5cms in length with an oblong shape.

Capping the existing testicle is how it is made bigger. You take a large silicone implant, cut in in half and then remove the inside of the implant leaving only a thinner outer shell. Then you put the two halfs together over the existing testicle and put it back together like a clamshell. A space needs to be left between the two calfs so that the vascular pedicle and cord that goes to the testicle is not pinched off.

Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana