A new perspective on penis length measurement in children: How healthy are the results obtained with the current techniques?

In order to detect abnormalities in the size of the penis, firstly, the penis length must be measured correctly. Controversies about the best technique on to be used to measure the length of the penis still persist. The hypothesis of this study is to show that penile length in children is longer than measured under normal examination conditions. A total of 155 children who applied to our institution for circumcision whose stretched penis length (SPL) measurements were performed were included in the study. The distance from the pubic bone to the tip of the glans penis, which was maximally stretched, was measured. Under normal examination conditions (SPL 1), under general anaesthesia (SPL 2) and after skin/ subcutaneous tissues were released during circumcision (SPL 3). The mean age of the patients was 4.20 ± 2.66 years. Mean SPLs were measured as 5.48 ± 1.03 and 5.96 ± 1.01 and 6.54 ± 1.01 cm in SPL 1, SPL 2 and SPL 3 respectively. The amount of increase between penis length measurements was statistically significant (p = .001). In all cases (100%), penis length measurements in SPL 3 were longer relative to SPL 1 and SPL 2.