Penis Shrinkage: Causes, Treatment And More - Healthline

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What Causes Penis Shrinkage?

Medically reviewed by Madeline Knott, MD — Written by Daniel Pendick — Updated on January 20, 2025

Causes
Contacting a doctor
Treatments
Takeaway

Your penis may shrink due to aging or some health conditions, including obesity and prostate surgery.

The length of your penis can decrease by up to an inch or so for various reasons. Usually, changes to penis size are smaller than an inch, however, and may be closer to 1/2 an inch or less.

A slightly shorter penis won’t affect your ability to have an active, satisfying sex life.

Read on to learn more about causes for penis shrinkage and how to manage this symptom.

Causes of penile shrinkage

The typical causes of loss of length in your penis include:

aging
obesity
prostate surgery
a curving of the penis, known as Peyronie’s disease

Aging

As you get older, your penis and testicles may get slightly smaller. One reason is the buildup of fatty deposits in your arteries reducing blood flow to your penis. This can cause withering of the muscle cells in the spongy tubes of erectile tissue inside your penis. The erectile tissue becomes engorged with blood to produce erections.

Over time, scarring from repeated small injuries to your penis during sex or sports activities can cause scar tissue to build up. This buildup occurs in the formerly supple and elastic sheath that surrounds the spongy erectile tissues in your penis. That could reduce overall size and limit the size of erections.

Obesity

If you gain weight, particularly around your lower abdomen, your penis may start to look shorter. That’s because the thick pad of fat starts to envelop the shaft of your penis.

When you look down at it, your penis may seem to have gotten smaller. In those who have extreme obesity, fat can enclose most of the penis.

Learn about buried penis.

Prostate surgery

Some people may experience mild to moderate shortening of their penis after having a cancerous prostate gland removed. This procedure is called radical prostatectomy.

According to a 2012 study, the mean (average) decrease in the stretched penile length 3 months after a radical prostatectomy was around 1 centimeter (cm). At 36 months, the mean decrease was 0.6 cm, and by 48 months the mean decrease was 0.3 cm.

The study points out that the difference before and after surgery was not significant. Erectile function helped restore penile length.

Experts aren’t sure why the penis shortens after prostatectomy. According to a 2023 study, possible reasons for penile length shortening following robot-assisted radical prostatectomy include:

high body mass index (BMI)
high prostate weight
lack of nerve-sparing, which refers to saving nerves at the site of the procedure

Learn about what to expect after prostate removal surgery.

Peyronie’s disease

Peyronie’s disease is a common condition. In Peyronie’s disease, the penis develops a curvature that can make intercourse painful or impossible.

Peyronie’s can reduce the length and girth of your penis. Surgery to remove the scar tissue that causes Peyronie’s can also reduce the size of the penis.

When to contact a doctor

If you are scheduled for radical prostatectomy, discuss penile shortening with your doctor so they can answer your questions and reassure you about any concerns you have.

If you begin to develop curvature of your penis with pain and swelling, it may be a sign of Peyronie’s disease. Contact a urologist about this. This doctor specializes in problems of the urinary tract.

Treatments for penile shrinkage

Maintaining erectile function is important because erections fill the penis with oxygen-rich blood, which could help prevent shortening.

You can help maintain erectile function with aging by:

remaining physically active
eating a nutritious diet
not smoking
avoiding the consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol

If your penis shortens after prostate removal, the length should return within around 48 months. Erectile function can help encourage this.

After surgery, your doctor might suggest a treatment called penile rehabilitation. It means taking drugs for erectile dysfunction, like sildenafil (Viagra) or tadalafil (Cialis), and using a vacuum device to boost blood flow to your penis.

Nourishing sensitive tissues with fresh blood may prevent tissue loss. Not all studies show penile rehabilitation really works, but you may want to try.

For Peyronie’s disease, treatments focus on reducing or removing scar tissue under the surface of the penis with medication, surgery, ultrasound, and other steps. There is one medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration for Peyronie’s called collagenase clostridium histolyticum (Xiaflex).

Penis shrinkage from Peyronie’s can be reversed with various procedures, but the main focus is to reverse curvature to restore your sex life.

Learn more about treatments for Peyronie’s disease.

The bottom line

Possible causes of penile shrinkage include aging, obesity, prostate surgery, and Peyronie’s disease.

Treatments for penile shrinking can depend on the cause. Maintaining sexual function can help prevent or slow down shrinking due to aging, while sexual function can also help restore growth following prostate surgery.

Medications and surgery can help treat Peyronie’s disease. However, the main focus on treatment is to reverse the curvature.

Contact your doctor if you have concerns about penile shrinkage. They can also provide more information about what to expect following treatments such as prostate surgery.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Byard RW, et al. (2022). Buried penis and morbid obesity.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9106619/
Capece M, et al. (2018). Collagenase clostridium histolyticum for the treatment of Peyronie's disease: A prospective Italian multicentric study.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29733116/
Huynh LM, et al. (2023). Climacturia and penile length shortening: Adverse outcomes following robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37058359/
Peyronie's disease. (2024).https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/peyronies-disease/
Preserving penis length after radical prostatectomy. (2009).https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/preserving-penis-length-after-radical-prostatectomy-20090408165
Preventing erectile dysfunction. (2017).https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/urologic-diseases/erectile-dysfunction/prevention
Sex and erection problems after treatment for prostate cancer. (2022).https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/prostate-cancer/practical-emotional-support/sex-relationships/difficulty-getting-erection
Vasconcelos JS, et al. (2012). The natural history of penile length after radical prostatectomy: A long-term prospective study.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23102441/

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Medically reviewed by Madeline Knott, MD — Written by Daniel Pendick — Updated on January 20, 2025

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