The silicone breast implant, botox and fillers were all plastic surgery marvels that sparked multi-billion dollar industries.
But now there are signs the next big demand is for foreskin regeneration — a new technique so far only explored on animal penises.
It works by removing cells from a donor’s foreskin and then growing the patient’s cells over the top. The newly-grown foreskin is then surgically attached to the patient’s penis.
This may allow veins, nerves and blood supply to integrate into the new tissue, restoring much of the sensation normally lost after a circumcision.
A poll done exclusively for DailyMail.com suggests there is an untapped market for the procedure, with 40 percent of circumcised men — mostly in the US — claiming they would pay to get their foreskin back.
Currently circumcised men have limited options, says Dr David Shusterman, a urologist and founder of NY Urology in New York,
The method works by removing cells from a donated foreskin and then growing those of the patient’s over the top. This new foreskin is then surgically attached to the penis (picture from the Phase II trials on mice)
The above shows a foreskin that was implanted into a mouse after having cells grown onto it. On the left is a foreskin having all its cells removed before the patient’s tissue is grown onto it
Surgical reattachment costs $2,400 to $3,500 but ‘leaves scars on both sides and it could look quite weird on the actual member’. It also has no effect on how sensitive the man’s penis is, he told DailyMail.com.
Less than a hundred foreskin reattachment surgeries are carried out in the US every year, and are done using skin grafted from other places on the body such as the legs.
Dr Shusterman said current methods were ‘pointless’
‘There is no point in re-attaching the tissue. It is for looks only — and it never really heals naturally with the penis.
He added: ‘We just don’t have procedures that can restore a foreskin with sensation yet.’
Patients can also use devices costing $400 to stretch the skin of the penis and ‘regrow’ their foreskin — but this takes years to yield results and there is limited evidence about how well
Foreskin regeneration is still in the early stages, but the method is set to enter human trials for the first time next year.
The technology is being developed by Foregen, a biotech company based in Lynnwood, Washington.
The company is fundraising for support for its research, having already raised $22,100 out of the goal of $45,000.
In phase II trials, they removed the cells from adult human foreskins — donated by deceased men — and re-colonized them with rat cells.
These were then implanted into the rats, with researchers finding the foreskin quickly connected to the host’s blood supply.
Phase III trials in humans are due to begin early next year.
They will involve 15 men who have all expressed dissatisfaction over their circumcision.
Donated foreskins will first have their cells removed before the patient’s cells are grown onto them.
They will then be attached to the patient’s penis and monitored for appearance — ensuring they match the rest of the penis — and functionality — whether they restore sensation.
One in ten went as far as to suggest they would fork out more than $20,000 for the procedure, the online survey found (stock image)
The above shows the proportion of male infants born in US hospitals who were circumcised from 1979 to 2010. The proportion declined by 10 percent over this period, the study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found
When the silicone implant industry emerged in the 1960s, it quickly took off and is now valued at $3billion.
But the operations are not without risk, with women who have them suffering from a higher risk of scar tissue, the devices rupturing within them or complications such as pain and changes in sensations in the breasts and nipples.
Botox emerged in the 1970s and has similarly spawned an industry valued at nearly $5billion — with people getting the facial injections for their promise to minimize wrinkles.
But, like breast implants, these are also not without complications with some patients suffering from drooped eyelids or crooked eyebrows after the injections.
Seventy percent of American men are circumcised, data suggests.
But the procedure is becoming less popular, with a 2021 study finding 55 percent of baby boys were now being circumcised each year.
That is still more common than in peer countries like the UK, however, where less than 20 percent of adult men are circumcised.
The new survey carried out by the Cultural Currents Institute in New York, 10,000 men who self-described as being circumcised were asked: ‘If you could get your foreskin back, with full function and sensation, how much would you pay for it?’
Forty percent said they ‘would pay’ with 10 percent of these going as far as to say they would pay ‘more than $20,000’.
Sixty percent said they ‘wouldn’t want it back’.
Circumcision became popular in the US during the 1950s with many doctors touting its potential benefits, such as reducing the risk of infection.
But by the 2000s many had gone into reverse, with medical organizations saying that while there were ‘potential benefits’ there was not enough evidence to recommend the procedure.
Other methods to restore the foreskin include using a device which gradually stretches the skin of the penis to ‘regrow’ a foreskin.
People can also go for foreskin reattachment surgery, which sees skin grafted from another area of the body to be the new foreskin.
But both these procedures rarely restore sensation to the site.
In a separate question in the online survey, answered by 675 people, six in ten said circumcision of infants should be banned.
And in a third poll involving 876 people, only 4.7 percent of respondents said they were not circumcised but would get their children circumcised.
For comparison, 22.4 percent of respondents said they were circumcised but would not get their male children the procedure.
Twenty-nine percent said they were circumcised and would get the same for their male children.
The survey was carried out online by Texas-based researcher Aella and the data was compiled by Brendon Marotta, who made the film American Circumcision.
