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Inmates modify own genitals, posing health risks
"Galang" is not a doctor or even a surgeon
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"Galang" is not a doctor or even a surgeon. He is an inmate serving a one-year sentence at Bondowoso penitentiary in East Java.
Yet he claims to have performed at least 13 "plastic surgeries" on his fellow inmates' penises.
"You can say that eight out of 10 inmates here have had their penises modified," said Galang, 29, who has completed almost half of his sentence over a drug case.
The penitentiary currently hosts 247 inmates.
The surgeries are done either by inserting small ball-shaped implants known as leker, made out of toothbrush handles, into the genitals; or by having them injected with silicon or herbal oil made from urang-aring plant - usually used to darken or moisturize hair - to make them larger in size.
Out of the 13 surgeries, Galang said that eight were testicular implants and the rest were penis enlargements.
In each procedure, he could insert up to four balls while each penis enlargement involved between four to nine injections.
Galang charges his customers from Rp 10,000 (around US$1) to Rp 15,000 for each leker implant and Rp 30,000 to Rp 40,000 for a penis enlargement treatment.
"If lucky, I also get an additional pack of cigarettes as a bonus," he said.
Despite his lack of a medical background, Galang, who previously assisted another "surgeon" inmate who has since been released, was confident of his success.
"I only need 10 minutes to inject urang-aring or silicon *fluid* and five minutes to implant a leker."
Forget about basic hygienic conditions.
To deal with bleeding, Galang only prepares coffee powder and a piece of cloth to wrap the open wound.
"It takes a week for the wound to dry and another one to three months before its ready for sexual activity."
Most of the tools used for the "surgery" were made and prepared inside the prison or brought in by visiting relatives.
The tools were then hidden to escape the routine check. Once used, all would be flushed down into a toilet.
Galang said he had hide his activities from jail officials.
If caught in the act, he claimed he would get lashed with electricity cables and put in an isolation cell.
One of Galang's clients, "Nanang", claimed he had nine leker implanted as a "souvenir" for his wife.
"I hope these implants will increase her sexual satisfaction."
Inserting such implants - known as pearling or genital beading -is usually aimed to enhance partners' sexual pleasure.
In Galang's case, it is also done to help his fellow inmates kill time while serving their terms.
Such practices appears to have been common around the world.
The most well-known historical use of this involves Japanese criminal syndicate Yakuza whose members had the implant made in prison.
For them, each bead symbolized a year spent inside jail.
Urologist Budi Suwarno of Dr. Soebandi hospital in Jember, East Java acknowledged such practices, saying it was very risky for the inmates to undergo such procedures.
"It can have fatal results such as infection, penis trauma and permanent defect, not to mention damaging the blood vessels.," he said.
He said the leker implant could incite the emergence of keloids under the skin tissue, making the penis less elastic and liable to bend during erections.
Injecting foreign objects into the body, including urang-aring and silicon, may block the lymph gland and blood vessels, prompting the tissue to swell, he added.
"This is what has been misunderstood as success in penis enlargement efforts," Budi said.
The hospital's Voluntary Counseling and Testing Clinic counselor coordinator, Justina Evy Tyaswati, warned such modifications might pose HIV/AIDS risks for the inmates, mainly through the shared tools.
"Surgical devices exposed to the blood of a person with HIV/AIDS cannot just be sterilized using alcohol or hot water," she said.
"And there a number of inmates have HIV/AIDS."
Justina said her clinic, which conducted weekly visits to prisons including in Bondowoso and Situbondo, would continue to disseminate information on the danger of such practices.
