I consulted with a piercee who was experiencing problems with his Prince Albert piercing:

Hi Elayne,

Finally I found someone who might have an answer. I got a PA about 3 years ago now. All went well and I was able to size up to an 8mm / 0 gauge after about 2 1/2 years. I wore the 8mm 24/7 for about 3 months when I noticed there was only about 5mm of skin between the piercing and the urethra.

I've taken the ring out completely now to see if the hole will close down a bit but its still much the same size. I dont want to wear a smaller ring in case the skin breaks thru completley. Any ideas? Should I leave it out for longer? It's been out for 8 months now. Would I be right in thinking that a smaller ring, although not heavy, would prevent any kind of healing?
Thanks S.

Hi S.,
I have some bad news for you: that type of tissue thinning is highly likely to be permanent. It probably won't matter how long you leave the jewelry out--the skin is not apt to come back. And, with that small an amount of tissue remaining between the edge of your urethra and the opening of the piercing, you should avoid wearing jewelry, as you could end up with an accidental bifurcation (split) there. I've seen this happen many times over the years. Sometimes this results from over-stretching causing tissue loss. At other times it is because the piercing was made too close to the tip of the penis to support large jewelry. Whatever the cause, if there's only about 5mm of skin between the piercing and the lower edge of your urethra, then that's definitely not sufficient to support jewelry of any gauge or diameter. The risk of tearing is very high.

Maybe it is time for a reverse PA or an apadravya? The tissue on the upper part of the glans (above the urethra) is very sturdy and not subject to that same problem, though it is also considerably more challenging to stretch.

I'd be delighted to pierce you myself if you're able to connect with me while I'm on one of my guest-piercing tours in the US. The cities and dates currently in my schedule can be found here, along with an appointment request form. Should you care to be notified when I make travel plans in the future, please sign up for my newsletter by typing your email address into the box at the bottom of the page.

Good luck,
Elayne