Penile Extender Increased
Flaccid Length By Almost A
Third, Clinical Study Reports ScienceDaily
(Mar. 10, 2009) — Men who wore a penile extender every day
for six months
were able to increase the flaccid length of their penis by up
to 32% and their erectile function
by up to 36%, according to an independent clinical
study published in the March issue of BJU
International.
Researchers
from San Giovanni Battista Hospital at the University of
Turin, Italy, are now
suggesting that this treatment could provide a viable alternative
to surgery, as the results were
significant and patient satisfaction with the
technique was high.
“Twenty-one
highly motivated patients, with an average age of 47, were
enrolled and 16
completed the 12-month study,” says consultant urologist Dr.
Paolo Gontero.
“Having
undergone psychosexual counselling, to make sure that the
treatment would be
beneficial, the men were asked to wear the Andro-Penis device for between four and six hours
a day for six months. The device comprises a
plastic ring, two dynamic rods that produce the
traction and a silicon band to
hold the penis in place. The men were told to increase the traction
from 600g in
month one to up to 1200g in month six. Follow ups were performed in months
one,
three, six and 12.”
Key findings
included:
-
Men who took part in the study wore
the device for an average of five hours
in the first month, five hours in the third month and
four hours in the sixth month.
-
The men’s average flaccid penile
length was 7.15cm (2.82 inches) at baseline and had
increased by 32 per cent to 9.45cm (3.72 inches) in
month 12.
-
The men’s average stretched penile
length was 9.62cm (3.79 inches) at baseline and had
increased by 18 per cent to 11.32 cm (4.45 inches) in
month 12.
-
No significant increase in penile
girth, which averaged 10.4cm (4.09 inches) at baseline,
was reported.
-
Average erectile function scores
improved by up to 36%, from 19.9 out of 30 at baseline
to 27.1 out of 30 at 12 months.
-
Four patients discontinued the
treatment for four different reasons: pain and penile
bruising, satisfactory results after three months, lack
of efficacy and inability to follow the protocol.
Another was lost to follow-up.
-
High satisfaction levels were
reported in all categories except penile girth. The
average score for overall satisfaction was 2.8 on a
scale of zero to four,
where four represents the optimal result.
-
Flaccid penile length scored 2.31 on
a scale of zero to three, where three represents
significant improvement. Penile length during erection
scored 2.37 out of three and sex life 2.3. Penile girth
scored 1.1.
“A number of
surgical procedures are available that aim to elongate the
shaft of the penis or
enlarge the penile girth,” says Dr Gontero. “However these have a
number of disadvantages,
including a lack of standardisation, potential risk of
complications and high patient
dissatisfaction.
“It should
also be pointed out that the majority of men who seek help
for a small penis fail to
meet the clinical criteria for surgery. For example, only
one of the men in our study had a
flaccid penis length of less than 4cm and American
guidelines strongly discourage surgery if
men exceed this measurement. Twelve had dysmorphia (excessive dislike of a body part) and
the remaining eight had undergone surgery for curvature of the shaft.”
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.”
Journal
reference:
Paolo
Gontero, Massimiliano Di Marco, Gianluca Giubilei,
Riccardo Bartoletti, Giovanni
Pappagallo, Alessandro Tizzani, Nicola Mondaini. A pilot
phase-II prospective study to
test the 'efficacy' and tolerability of a
penile-extender device in the treatment of '
short penis'. BJU International,
2009; 103: 793- 797
DOI:
10.1111/j.1464-
410X.2008.08083.x
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