A penis extender is an external medical device with tentative evidence as of 2019 for Peyronie's disease. It acts as a mechanical, traction device that stretches the human penis in the flaccid state to make it longer. [1]
Penis extenders usually have a plastic ring that sits at the base of a flaccid penis, and another ring before the glans penis, with a traction device that runs along the sides of the organ. The wearer adjusts springs, which pull the penile shaft with the intention of stretching the flaccid penis to become longer. [1]
There is tentative evidence for use in Peyronie's disease. [1] As of 2019, studies have been small in size; many had difficulty carrying out the treatment during the study period, and people were not blinded to the treatment that they were receiving. [1]
Adverse effects are not extensively reported in the literature, and they are usually mild and self-limiting, in part caused by lack of patient compliance with penile traction therapy (PTT). The most commonly reported symptoms with PTT include pain, erythema, ecchymoses, and pruritus. Another reported symptom was edema to the pubic bone, which is associated with vigorous usage. All of these adverse events are generally self-limited and resolve with discontinuation of PTT. [1] Seek advice on how to use the penis extender safely, and correctly.
It should not be used if penile wounds, lacerations, or infected zones have not fully healed, and by those suffering certain diseases or disorders. [2] Aggressive or incorrect uses of penis extenders can cause damage to skin and blood vessels, among other possible issues. [3]
Erectile dysfunction (ED), also referred to as impotence, is a form of sexual dysfunction in males characterized by the persistent or recurring inability to achieve or maintain a penile erection with sufficient rigidity and duration for satisfactory sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in males and can cause psychological distress due to its impact on self-image and sexual relationships.
Peyronie's disease is a connective tissue disorder involving the growth of fibrous plaques in the soft tissue of the penis. Specifically, scar tissue forms in the tunica albuginea, the thick sheath of tissue surrounding the corpora cavernosa, causing pain, abnormal curvature, erectile dysfunction, indentation, loss of girth and shortening.
Penis enlargement, or male enhancement, is any technique aimed to increase the size of a human penis. Some methods aim to increase total length, others the shaft's girth, and yet others the glans and foreskin size. Techniques include surgery, supplements, ointments, patches, and physical methods like pumping, jelqing, and traction.
Premature ejaculation (PE) is a male sexual dysfunction that occurs when a male expels semen soon after beginning sexual activity, and with minimal penile stimulation. It has also been called early ejaculation, rapid ejaculation, rapid climax, premature climax and (historically) ejaculatio praecox. There is no uniform cut-off defining "premature", but a consensus of experts at the International Society for Sexual Medicine endorsed a definition of around one minute after penetration. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) applies a cut-off of 15 seconds from the beginning of sexual intercourse.
Koro is a culture bound delusional disorder in which individuals have an overpowering belief that their sex organs are retracting and will disappear, despite the lack of any true longstanding changes to the genitals. Koro is also known as shrinking penis, and was listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Penile fracture is rupture of one or both of the tunica albuginea, the fibrous coverings that envelop the penis's corpora cavernosa. It is caused by rapid blunt force to an erect penis, usually during vaginal intercourse, or aggressive masturbation. It sometimes also involves partial or complete rupture of the urethra or injury to the dorsal nerves, veins and arteries.
Phalloplasty is the construction or reconstruction of a penis or the artificial modification of the penis by surgery. The term is also occasionally used to refer to penis enlargement.
Clitoral enlargement methods are forms of body modification that have the potential to increase the size of the clitoris and enhance sexual pleasure. Clitoral enlargement can be accomplished through a variety of means, each potentially having certain side effects and risks.
A penile implant is an implanted device intended for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, Peyronie's disease, ischemic priapism, deformity and any traumatic injury of the penis, and for phalloplasty or metoidioplasty, including in gender-affirming surgery. Men also opt for penile implants for aesthetic purposes. Men's satisfaction and sexual function is influenced by discomfort over genital size which leads to seek surgical and non-surgical solutions for penis alteration. Although there are many distinct types of implants, most fall into one of two categories: malleable and inflatable transplants.
In human anatomy, the penis is an external sex organ through which males urinate and ejaculate. The main parts are the root, body, the epithelium of the penis including the shaft skin, and the foreskin covering the glans. The body of the penis is made up of three columns of tissue: two corpora cavernosa on the dorsal side and corpus spongiosum between them on the ventral side. The urethra passes through the prostate gland, where it is joined by the ejaculatory ducts, and then through the penis. The urethra goes across the corpus spongiosum and ends at the tip of the glans as the opening, the urinary meatus.
An erection is a physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular, and endocrine factors, and is often associated with sexual arousal, sexual attraction or libido, although erections can also be spontaneous. The shape, angle, and direction of an erection vary considerably between humans.
Human penis size varies on a number of measures, including length and circumference when flaccid and erect. Besides the natural variability of human penises in general, there are factors that lead to minor variations in a particular male, such as the level of arousal, time of day, ambient temperature, anxiety level, physical activity, and frequency of sexual activity. Compared to other primates, including large examples such as the gorilla, the human penis is thickest, both in absolute terms and relative to the rest of the body. Most human penis growth occurs in two stages: the first between infancy and the age of five; and then between about one year after the onset of puberty and, at the latest, approximately 17 years of age.
The mechanics of human sexuality or mechanics of sex, or more formally the biomechanics of human sexuality, is the study of the mechanics related to human sexual activity. Examples of topics include the biomechanical study of the strength of vaginal tissues and the biomechanics of male erectile function. The mechanics of sex under limit circumstances, such as sexual activity at zero-gravity in outer space, are also being studied.
Male genital examination is a physical examination of the genital in males to detect ailments and to assess sexual development, and is normally a component of an annual physical examination. The examination includes checking the penis, scrotum, and urethral meatus. A comprehensive assessment of the male genitals assesses the pubic hair based on Sexual Maturity Rating and the size of the testicles and penis. The exam can also be conducted to verify a person's age and biological sex. The genitourinary system can also be assessed as part of the male genital examination. During a genital examination, the doctor can detect any of the following: structural abnormalities, urethral opening abnormalities, problems related to not being circumcised, lumps, tumors, redness, excoriation, edema, lesions, swelling, cancer, hair-related issues, and many others. In some instances where a physical examination of the male genitals is not sufficient to diagnose an individual, then an internal genital examination using imaging or ultrasounds will be needed for further evaluation.
Penile artery shunt syndrome (PASS) is an iatrogenic clinical phenomenon first described by Tariq Hakky, Christopher Yang, Jonathan Pavlinec, Kamal Massis, and Rafael Carrion within the Sexual Medicine Program in the Department of Urology, at the University of South Florida, and Ricardo Munarriz, of Boston University School of Medicine Department of Urology in 2013. It may be a cause of refractory erectile dysfunction in patients who have undergone penile revascularization surgery.
Miroslav L Djordjevic is a Serbian surgeon specializing in sex reassignment surgery, and an assistant professor of urology at the School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia.
Culley Clyde Carson III is an American retired urologist who specializes in Peyronie's disease, penile implants and erectile dysfunction. After serving two years as a flight surgeon with the United States Air Force, he took on a urology residency at the Mayo Clinic and then taught at the Duke University Medical Center as an assistant professor, subsequently gaining full professorship.
Zephyr Surgical Implants (ZSI) is a Swiss-based medical device manufacturer that produces and distributes artificial urinary sphincters and penile implants worldwide. ZSI products are used in the management of moderate-to-severe urinary incontinence in men, erectile dysfunction, Peyronie's disease, penis enlargement, and female-to-male gender reassignment surgery.
Larry I. Lipshultz is an American urologist, surgeon, researcher, and teacher. He currently serves as Professor of Urology, Lester and Sue Smith Endowed Chair in Reproductive Medicine, and Chief of the Scott Department of Urology's Division of Male Reproductive Medicine and Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
The Erection Hardness Score (EHS) is a single-item Likert scale used to assess the subjective hardness of the penis as reported by the patient. It ranges from 0 to 4. Developed in 1998, the EHS is widely used in clinical trials and is recognized for its ease of administration and strong association with sexual function outcomes. It has been validated across various causes of erectile dysfunction and in patients treated with phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5), showing robust psychometric properties and responsiveness to treatment.
5th Congress of the European Society for Sexual and Impotence Research (1–4 December 2002). Hamburg, Germany.
The device should not be used until any penile wounds, lacerations or infected zones have completely healed. And it should not be used by patients with penile tumor, chronic disorders affecting blood circulation, oxygenation and regeneration of tissues (advanced or uncontrolled diabetes, liver cirrhosis, advanced respiratory failure). The subjects suffered from priapism, uncontrolled psychology disorders, diabetes, heart diseases and hand disorders not to use the device. ... In every visits, the penile discomfort, pain, foreskin edema should be paid attention to.
Treatment of small penis in normal men is supported by scant, low-quality evidence. Structured counseling should be always performed, with extenders eventually used by those still seeking enhancement. Injectables and surgery should remain a last option, considered unethical outside of clinical trials.
Book of abstracts of the 8th Congress of the European Society for Sexual Medicine, Copenhagen, Denmark, 4–7 December 2005.
One noninvasive technique to lengthen penises— penile traction devices — shows promise, according to a new review of research. But researchers say most men who seek longer penises don't really know the long and short of their situation.
Judson Brandeis, MD, says that on the other hand, a penis extender is a mechanical traction device that stretches the penis in the flaccid state, meant to stretch the penis to make it longer.
Penile traction devices, or penis extenders, stretch the tissues in the penis to increase its length. Some research indicates that these devices work. However, they require persistence and dedication to produce noticeable results. ... Individuals interested in trying a penile extender should note that most of these studies involved only small sample sizes. Other criticisms include selection bias, which means that the randomization of the study participants may not be sufficient, and researchers may select them to achieve a particular result. More research is necessary to determine more accurately the safety and effectiveness of these devices.
Penile extenders usually require the penis being in traction for several hours a day for several months, and the researchers wondered whether the gains were worth it. A small number of the men who used penile extenders reported experiencing bruising, temporary discoloration, pain and itching.
The authors believe that the results are significant. 'Our study showed that the penile extender device produces an effective and durable lengthening of the penis, both in the flaccid and stretched state,' concludes Dr Gontero. 'If these results are confirmed by further research, we propose that the device should be used as a first-line treatment option for men seeking a penile lengthening procedure.'
Phallosan is an orthopaedic stretch belt for penis enlargement which was launched on the market in 1999. Between July 2005 and January 2005 a study of the effectiveness of Phallosan was carried out under the patronage of Professor Dr. Sohn, Chief Physician at the Urological Clinic at the Markus Hospital in Frankfurt am Main. The data was collected by the clinic's Senior Consultant, Dr. Hanikel. The results of 24 patients from the study were used for evaluation purposes. Two patients were classified as dropouts, but these had no post-baseline measurements and have been excluded from the analyses. They were only included in the analysis of satisfaction levels in the form of a worst-case analysis and classed as dissatisfied. A further 5 patients were marked 'to follow' in the study data and have been excluded (for the time being) from the analysis. The main purpose of this statistical report is to determine whether a (statistically) significant change in penis girth and length can be identified after using Phallosan for six months. For this purpose, univariate characteristics were calculated for these parameters and t-tests conducted of the significance of the enlargement. An allowance was made for the fact that due to repeated application of the test it was a multiple test problem.
'The magnitude of gained length was similar irrespective of baseline size,' Gontero told LiveScience. 'So the device could work also for those men who complain of so-called penile dysmorphopobia [and who] fall within the normal range — the majority — but who are strongly convinced they have a small penis.' The extender, however, didn't fully live up to the claims of its manufacturer, Andromedical, based in Madrid, which boasts of an average gain of 1.3 inches for an erection and a larger girth. Gontero's group saw no significant improvement in girth and no biological mechanism that would support the claim. Perhaps not surprisingly, the study didn't ask whether the men's partners were happy with the change.