Recent Advances in External Penile Prostheses

External penile support devices have a long history. But so far, not much progress has been made. Nonetheless, today there are still expectations for external penile support devices due to their inherent great advantages [1,2]. Current support devices are mostly rigid. Their application prospects are unclear [3]. Although some of them are technically nearly perfect, they are still not acceptable to most women because they cause a strong vaginal Foreign Body Sensation (FBS) [4].

To avoid FBS in women, the author recently designed a soft external penile prosthesis called an erection band [5]. It uses a double layer of cloth as a carrier with serpentine wires attached as a support layer that can be used to wrap the penis and provide longitudinal support. This soft support technology opens up a variety of implementation possibilities through the different designs of the support layer in material and structure, as well as the choice of the carrier [6]. However, the simplest implementation of the erection band is: “silicone scar sticker+printing paper”, as shown in Figure 1a, where the support layer is a single layer of ordinary 80gsm printing paper, and the carrier is a silicone scar sticker. Actual tests have shown that wrapping this erection band around the base of the penis can provide about 2.5kg of longitudinal support, as shown in Figure 1b. If stronger support is required, double or even multiple layers of paper can be used as the support layer. However, multiple layers of paper must be stacked in steps. Figure 1c shows an erection band that can support up to 10kg, which has a 4-layer support layer [7].

The aforementioned erection band is very thin. When the support force is 2.5kg, its thickness is about 0.3mm, and when the support force is 10kg, its thickness is about 0.6mm. Furthermore, it does not have any hard ridges, sharp edges, sharp corners and steps. It is soft and smooth throughout and has an even texture. It does not cause FBS in women and is suitable for patients with mild, moderate and severe erectile dysfunction. It is easy to use. Just stick it on the shaft of the penis and wrap it tightly, as shown in Figure 1b, and wear a condom to keep the paper support layer from getting wet. Also, in order to prevent the pubic hair from being adhesion, it is best to cut the pubic hair short.

Figure 1:Soft external penile prosthesis.

The above-mentioned prosthesis is designed for one-time use and adopts a paper support layer, which is low in cost and convenient to make, and can be easily made by anyone within a few minutes. The author believes that the erection band would benefit thousands of patients. In the author’s experience, external support devices can help ED patients extend their sex lives for more than 20 years, just like implants [8].

1. Wassersug R, Wibowo E (2017) Non-pharmacological and non-surgical strategies to promote sexual recovery for men with erectile dysfunction. Transl Androl Urol 6(Suppl 5): S776-S794.
2. Stein MJ, Lin H, Wang R (2014) New advances in erectile technology. Ther Adv Urol 6(1): 15-24.
3. Laurence AL (2004) External devices for treatment of erectile dysfunction. Endocrine 23(2-3): 157-160.
4. Mingguang Yi (2019) A new set of external devices for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Adv Complement Alt Med 4(2).
5. Mingguang Yi (2020) A new type of external penile support device. J Med Case Rep Case Series 1(2).
6. Mingguang Yi (2021) External penile prosthesis that can be easily made in a few minutes. Am J Biomed Sci & Res 14(1).
7. Mingguang Yi (2021) Soft external penile support device. Am J Biomed Sci & Res 14(5).
8. Francesco C, Paolo C, Federico D, Edoardo P, Nicolo S, et al. (2019) Long-term follow-up after penile prosthesis implantation-survival and quality of life outcomes. J Sex Med 16(11): 1827-1833.