What Causes Clitoromegaly?
Clitoromegaly doesn’t have a single root cause — far from it — and can result from a variety of things that include:
- Congenital disorders (present at birth)
- Chromosomal disorders (present at birth)
- Medical conditions
- Hormonal imbalances and hormone replacement therapy
- Anabolic steroids
- Vulvitis (genital irritation)
- Cysts or abscesses
- Tumors
- The way your clitoris was “made” (meaning it’s a perfectly normal trait for you as an individual)
- Clitoral enlargement surgery
The most common cause of congenital clitoromegaly is congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a disorder of the adrenal glands that can be serious and affects 1 in 10,000 to 16,000 people.
Other causes of congenital enlargement of the clit include a wide array of disorders of sex development (DSDs).
Multiple types of chromosomal DSDs can cause clitoromegaly in childhood and adolescence, including 46, XX and 46, XY.
Clitoromegaly may also occur later in life for a number of reasons, such as hormonal imbalances caused by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), anabolic steroid use, or testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).
A clitoris can also simply appear to be enlarged due to nonhormonal causes, such as cysts, abscesses, and tumors as well as vulvitis, which can cause swelling and inflammation of the clitoris.
This is known as pseudoclitoromegaly.
Finally, some people simply have a large clitoris and it’s a normal, perfectly healthy part of their body that is not cause for concern.
A person may even choose to enlarge their clitoris for cosmetic, preferential, or gender-affirming reasons.
As with anything related to body autonomy, these choices should be left solely to the individual.
An individual should, however, receive personal and professional support to make sure they are aware of potential clit enlargement side effects and help the process go as smoothly and effectively as possible.