Health
Penis enlargement fillers aren’t risk-free, doctor warns
By Samuel Omotere
Aesthetic medicine and dermatology physician, Dr Mobola Savage, has warned that non-surgical penis enlargement procedures involving injectable fillers are not risk-free following the death of Nigerian-British businessman and social media influencer, Igho Ubiribo.
Savage, who was reacting to reports of Ubiribo’s death in an X post shared with PUNCH Online on Tuesday, said penile filler was an invasive medical procedure involving highly vascular anatomy and should not be treated as a risk-free alternative to surgery.
“And perhaps the biggest lesson from this tragedy is that non-surgical does not mean risk-free. Penile filler is still an invasive medical procedure involving highly vascular anatomy,” she said.
43-year-old Ubiribo died in March after undergoing a penis enlargement procedure while on holiday in Bangkok, Thailand.
According to reports from the inquest at the Inner West London Coroners’ Court, 40 millilitres of hyaluronic acid and lidocaine were injected into his penis at an unnamed clinic in Thailand.
A UK coroner subsequently ruled that the cosmetic procedure caused a fatal pulmonary embolism. A postmortem examination reportedly found material in Ubiribo’s lungs consistent with the hyaluronic acid used during the procedure.
Savage noted that the procedure Ubiribo underwent was not conventional penile enlargement surgery but non-surgical penile augmentation using hyaluronic acid filler.
She said the treatment was primarily intended to increase girth rather than the actual length of the penis.
“From what has been reported, this wasn’t penile enlargement surgery in the conventional sense. It was non-surgical penile augmentation using Hyaluronic acid filler, a treatment primarily intended to increase girth, not true penile length,” she said.
Savage also raised concerns about the reported volume of filler administered in a single treatment.
“What immediately stood out to me was the reported 40ml administered in one treatment. Now, penile augmentation does require considerably larger filler volumes than facial aesthetics, but I think this raises an important conversation about how we approach volume,” she said.
According to her, greater augmentation did not necessarily need to be achieved in a single session, adding that treatment should be individualised according to a patient’s anatomy, tissue capacity and desired outcome.
“A more measured approach is to individualize treatment according to patient’s anatomy, tissue capacity and desired outcome, with further augmentation performed progressively where appropriate,” she said.
Savage cautioned against viewing the amount of filler administered as a measure of the quality of the treatment.
“This is particularly important because there is a tendency for patients seeking penile enhancements to focus on ‘How many mLs am I getting?’, as though more filler automatically means a better result. It doesn’t work that way,” she said.
She added that the appropriate volume should depend on the patient’s anatomy, tissue capacity, desired outcome, product characteristics and clinical judgement.
“The number of milliliters should never become the objective of the treatment. Appropriate volume depends on anatomy, tissue capacity, the desired outcome, product characteristics and clinical judgement,” she said.
Savage also highlighted the role of lidocaine, a local anaesthetic contained in some hyaluronic acid fillers.
“Many HA fillers already contain lidocaine, although not all do. With high-volume filler treatments, the lidocaine contained within the product contributes to the patient’s total exposure,” she said.
She, however, cautioned against linking lidocaine toxicity to Ubiribo’s death without sufficient evidence.
“We do not have enough information to say that lidocaine toxicity played any role in this particular death, and it would be wrong to assume that it did.
“But it is another consideration when planning large-volume injectable procedures,” Savage said.
The physician further warned that medical tourism could place additional pressure on patients and practitioners to complete extensive treatments in a single visit.
“When someone has travelled internationally for treatment, there can be pressure to achieve the entire desired result in one visit because returning for staged treatment may be difficult.
“But travel schedules, convenience and even patient demand should never override clinical judgement,” she said.
Savage said the safety of penile filler procedures depended on several factors, including patient selection, anatomy, product choice, injection plane and technique, appropriate volume and the ability to recognise and manage complications.
“Patient selection, anatomy, product choice, injection plane and technique, appropriate volume, total local-anaesthetic exposure and the ability to recognise and manage complications all matter. More is not always better. And faster is not always safer,” she said.
Ubiribo, also known by the nicknames “Tiny”, “Denisi” and “Ego”, reportedly travelled to Thailand with his wife, Danielle Simba Allen.
Following the procedure, the couple reportedly returned to their Marriott hotel and went for a massage.
During the massage, Ubiribo complained of chest pain and subsequently passed out twice. He was taken by ambulance to Sukhumvit Hospital, where he was initially able to respond to questions.
According to evidence presented at the inquest, his wife informed doctors that he had recently undergone penis filler injections.
Doctors suspected that he had suffered a pulmonary embolism and recommended a CT scan, but Ubiribo reportedly lost consciousness before the scan could be performed.
He was subsequently transferred to an intensive care unit, where medical staff performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation for more than 100 minutes in an attempt to revive him. He died in the early hours of March 6.
A postmortem examination conducted in the UK later found material in Ubiribo’s lungs consistent with the hyaluronic acid used in the filler.
Pathologist John du Parcq reportedly told the inquest that the material found in his lungs matched the substance used during the cosmetic procedure and was consistent with a pulmonary embolism.
A pulmonary embolism occurs when a blood vessel supplying the lungs becomes blocked, potentially restricting blood flow and placing severe strain on the heart.
Ubiribo had reportedly undergone previous joint surgery and had been described as pre-diabetic and suffering from gout. His primary care doctor, however, reportedly indicated that he had no other significant medical conditions.
Penile fillers containing hyaluronic acid are used as a non-surgical method of increasing penis girth. The treatment involves injecting filler into the tissue and, although less invasive than conventional surgery, can still carry medical risks.
Savage’s warning comes as Ubiribo’s death renews attention on the safety of cosmetic procedures involving injectable fillers, particularly those performed abroad.
The doctor stressed that the fact that a procedure is described as non-surgical should not lead patients to assume that it is without potentially serious complications.
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