My husband had a series of operations on his penis when he was very
young due to a genetic defect. The result is that although it looks
normal, his penis is much less sensitive than other guys.

He is circumcised. The genetic defect that he was born with was
something to the effect that the penis hadn't formed properly, and in
order to correct that they did a number of painful surgeries when he
was very young. He says that he thinks that this has left a lot of
nerves dead in that area, and so that really the only part that is
sensitive for him is the tip. The shaft is rather numb. Like when he
masterbates he only focuses on the head, really not on any other part
of the penis and what allows him to ejaculate is really the amount of
friction applied.

He can masterbate and ejaculate because of the friction he applies,
but because really the tip of his penis is the most sensitive part, he
really can't during sex. I was wondering if there are devices/lotions
that we can use to make his penis more sensitive so that he would be
able to ejaculate during sex.

Hello betty7-ga,

Let me give you some options of things you could try in the topical
and medication department that may help your husband out. I would also
have to say I agree with the comment below, that some of this may be a
bit psychological as well, and I'll help you with that too.

First of all, to see if there really is decreased sensation, there are
some tests your doctor can perform to check and see if nerve
sensitivity has really been lost. Many times, the decreased
sensitivity is more in the mind, so this will prove whether it is
psychological or medical. Decreased sensitivity over time can lead to
ED or Erectile Dysfunction over time, so it's good to see of the bat
if it is a neurological decrease or a emotional one. Nerve deficit ED
is usually associated with other disorders causing neurological
symptoms.

More than likely, your doctor will do a number of things including
health history first; to determine weather the cause is medical or
psychological. This eliminated the need for unnecessary testing.
However, since you husband did go through so many medical procedures,
you may want the tests ran anyway, because his problem with sensation
could be a little of both.

One of the tests is called a Biothesiometry. A biothesiometer is a
vibrating apparatus having a fixed frequency & variable amplitude. It
is used to measure the vibration sense at the sides of the penile
shaft & glans. It is a good screening procedure for sensory deficit
problems with the penis.

There is also a test called dorsal nerve somatosensory evoked
potential. This is a neurophysiologic test involving electrical
stimulation of the dorsal nerve of the penis. EEG waves are recorded
over the sacral cord & cerebral cortex, and analyzed using computer
signals. This helps diagnose sensory lesions (areas of decreased
sensitivity) as well as calculating the dorsal nerve conduction
velocity.

There are such supplements available to the public over the counter,
which may help in increasing penile sensation. However, I STRONGLY
encourage you before taking any supplements, that you speak with your
family doctor about them, as they could possibly interact with a
condition or medication your husband may have and not even know about,
or medications he may be on.

A few supplements you could try are:

Viadure http://www.hasslefreeweightloss.com/viadure.html
This states it helps to increase sensation.
Please note the link at the beginning of the article with the
ingredient list. That is very important to show your doctor when you
talk to him/her about starting a supplement. It is a .jpg file, so you
would have to save it as you would a picture on your computer and
print it off.

Another supplement available is 
VigRX http://www.pillsrus.com/male-enhancement.html

You may also want to talk to your doctor about Cialis
http://www.cialis.com/anon/index.jsp

In addition, as I mentioned before, you may want to talk to your
husband about seeing a sexual therapist to overcome some of the
anxiety and stress this may be causing. I agree that from the
surgeries, he may have decreased sensation, however, some of the
inability to ejaculate may come from the fear he may not be able to,
or the thought of letting himself or you down if he can't do something
you both desire. Many times, some therapy can help to overcome that
fear or depression and improve the ability to ejaculate.

Here is a good website to locate a qualified sex therapist in your area
http://www.aasect.org/Home/



Information used to aid answer:
http://www.sexualhealth.com/questions/read.cfm?ID=1126
http://www.sexualhealth.com/questions/read.cfm?ID=1107

Google searches used:

Increasing penile sensation
://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=+increasing+penile+sensation+topical+cream&btnG=Search

Penile sensation
://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=+penile+sensation&btnG=Search

Sex therapists
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=sex%20therapists&btnG=Google+Search


If this answer requires further explanation, please request
clarification before rating it, and I'll be happy to look into this
further.
Nenna-GA
Google Answers Researcher