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Inside the Secretive World of Penile Enlargement (www.propublica.org)

submitted 1 year ago by Dee_Imaginarium to c/science

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Do articles about medicine go in the Science community? Seemed like the best place for what I thought was a really well written article about this niche subject matter.

... Kevin said that he had undergone five surgeries with Elist, including two upgrades, a revision and a removal, and his penis no longer functioned.

Still, Kevin had always found the surgeon to be caring, if a little preoccupied. “He reminded me of Doctor Frankenstein — the intensity of him wanting this thing to come to life,” Kevin told me. It sounded strange, he acknowledged, but before each operation he’d been filled with excitement. “You just feel relieved that you’re fixing something,” he said.

At an appointment earlier this year, Kevin said, Elist promised to fix him again with a sixth procedure, but one of the surgeon’s assistants discreetly advised against it...

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[–] Dee_Imaginarium 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

As for where it should go, it’s really a tossup. Articles about medicine can really fit the science or humanities category quite often as medicine is a bit of both.

That's what I figured, thank you.

As for the rest of your comment I pretty much wholeheartedly agree. Especially the bit you mention "with a lack of proper psychiatric counseling in such a way that consent for the procedure isn’t truly informed." As a trans person that was the part about this article that kind of spoke to me/hit home. I often see people talking about how all you need to do is get the surgery and everything will be fine. But lately I've seen that attitude in online spaces change to be more cautious which I'm happy for. I personally know two fellow trans people who went forward with surgery options too quickly and regret the decisions. I'm currently working towards that goal but have a lot of self work to do before I go under the knife (if I do eventually go that far, I might not).

[–] Griseowulfin 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, people tend to think that physicians and surgeons can work miracles, which sadly is not the case. This leads to anger, sadness, and even mistrust in the healthcare field when the answer is "if it hurt to do that, then don't do that", "there's no magic pill to erase the damage that has already occurred", and ultimately, "surgery is ultimately limited by skill, technology, and the patient's body". We just don't have all that, though I hope we keep pushing. Medicine is a weird mashup of addressing problems that are physiological, mental, or both (and sometimes we can't tell which), sometimes there's not a perfect solution. Not all physicians are good at explaining that; not all patients are comfortable hearing that.

I wish you the best in your journey, it's not easy to do that research and be introspective, but I hope it is fulfilling no matter what you decide to do.

[–] Dee_Imaginarium 1 points 1 year ago

Thank you very much 😊