Does Injecting Your Penis With Hyaluronic Acid Actually Make It Bigger?

So far, the most headline-making Olympic news has nothing to do with gold medals. But rather, what some male Olympians are willing to do for them. Enter: Penisgate. Mere days after the Olympics began, word spread about male ski jumpers allegedly injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid to fly further.

The claim (which so far is just a rumor and is being investigated by the World Anti-Doping (WADA) agency) is that ski jumpers used the aforementioned penis filler before getting fitted for their ski suits, causing a temporary increase in penis size and giving them a slightly baggier suit. The bagginess (allegedly) acts as a sail in just the right place, leading to a slightly longer jump. It should be noted that hyaluronic acid isn’t one of the substances banned by WADA, but if it’s giving competitors an edge, that may change.

Seem far-fetched? There’s actually been scientific research on this. A 2025 scientific study published in Frontiers found that a two-centimeter change in a ski suit can give an extra 5.8 meters in jump length. There’s currently no proof that the ski jumpers used any sort of penis filler, but the allegations are raising questions about how effective hyaluronic acid is when it comes to increasing penis size. Wondering if it’s legit? We talked to urologists to find out.

Can hyaluronic acid injections actually increase penis size?

We talked to four experts (three urologists as well as a very sought-after nurse practitioner who specializes in penis injections) and they all say that hyaluronic acid injections can, in fact, result in a bigger member. “Hyaluronic acid is placed just under the penile skin and not inside the erectile tissue. That way it doesn’t interfere with erectile function,” says Paul Perito, MD, FACS, a urologist and the founder of UroFill.

Chris Bustamante, DNP, a highly in-demand nurse practitioner who does penis injections at Lushful Aesthetics in New York, adds that hyaluronic acid filler adds volume under the penile skin. “The filler physically occupies space and creates a sort of customizable non-permanent injectable ‘implant,’” he says. This won’t increase length, but he says that it does add girth, both when the penis is flaccid and erect. “It makes men go from ‘growers’ to ‘showers,’” Bustamante says.

Martin Gross, MD, a urologist with Dartmouth Health, adds that the length that hyaluronic acid filler might add to the penis is pretty minor and only noticeable when flaccid. “The added penile bulk prevents some penile retraction, which is what creates that effect, but erect length does not meaningfully change,” he says. In terms of how much of an increase in girth you can get, Dr. Gross estimates that most people see an increase of between 1 and 2.5 centimeters.

Alex Tatem, MD, a urologist who does hyaluronic acid injections regularly, says that it’s best to spread injections out over four sessions instead of getting all the filler at once. “When hyaluronic acid penis injections first started in the 2010s, researchers in Korea would give all the filler at once, but it ended up making the penis look kind of like Humpty Dumpty. Filler can migrate, which is why it’s best to get it slowly,” he says.

Just like other aesthetic fillers, Dr. Tatem says that the effects of a hyaluronic acid penis injection don’t last forever; the hyaluronic acid is slowly reabsorbed in the body over time. He says that maintaining the effect requires a single injection about every 18 months.