Aquagel used in penis surgery banned by US FDA, BFAD

The substance allegedly used by some local doctors in performing penis enlargement surgery is banned both by the Philippines’ Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) and the United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), a doctor said during a hearing at the House of Representatives yesterday.

Dr. Hector Santos, president of the Plastic and Aesthetic Surgeons Association, said the “aquagel” mentioned in recent reports actually originated from China, and is 90 to 95 percent water and five percent gel.

“It has never been proven and is not FDA approved for injection for penis or for enlargement,” he said during a hearing of the House committee on civil service and professional regulation, headed by Iloilo Rep. Raul Gonzalez Jr.

Santos said aquagel is acceptable if used on the face as a “dermal filler,” an operation that should be done by legitimate surgeons.

 “But not in organs like the penis, because you would remove the blood supply,” he warned.

Santos said the aquagel may be used to fatten – not enlarge – penises, but the patient may suffer from erectile dysfunction as a result. He said the surgeon should have taken fat from the patient’s body and used it rather than the aquagel.

Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, an obstetrician-gynecologist, had raised the issue during the hearing following newspaper reports that American national Loeum Martinez filed a P26-million damage suit against doctors Manny and Pie Calayan for allegedly botching his penis enlargement surgery.

He also charged them with estafa, reckless imprudence resulting in physical injury and obstruction of justice, as well as petitioned the Professional Regulation Commission to strip them of their license to practice medicine.

Martinez complained that his penis was deformed and he has suffered from impotency since the September 2007 operation, which cost him P145,000. He claimed that when he checked with American doctors, they told him that aquagel is carcinogenic.