Soft External Penile Support Device

Background

The history of the external penile support device is at least more than a century [1]. However, most of the current support is hard support. They usually use two rigid rods to provide longitudinal support [2] [3]. Unfortunately, for most women, these two hard rods can cause vaginal opening pain during intercourse. In addition, they can also cause foreign body sensation (FBS) to the patient, making the patient feel uncomfortable. In fact, it makes the penis feel like it is caught by a pair of chopsticks. In order to improve the overall satisfaction of patients and partners, the author recently proposed a soft external penile prosthesis called an erection band [4], which uses a 300gsm white cardboard strip to provide longitudinal support. It is almost perfect. However, the edges of the white cardboard are very hard, which can still cause FBS. This article proposes an improved version of the erection band, which consists of 80gsm laminated step paper strips pasted on medical silicone tape, as shown in Figure 1a. It is soft overall, without any hard edges and sharp corners, and its thickness is less than 1mm. However, it can provide strong longitudinal support. Figure 1b shows a 4-layer 80gsm laminated paper tape. Its layers are bonded at three points with double-sided tape. It is also prepared with parallel creases to make curling more flexible. Practical tests have shown that it can withstand up to 10 kilograms of weight when rolled up.

Figure 1: Band Improved erection.

Figure 2: 4-layer 80gsm laminated step paper strip: the largest layer is 6cmX14cm, and the step between any two layers is 3mm.

The size of the improved erection band is characterized by the size of the largest paper strip. Obviously, it has good size adaptability. In fact, several sizes such as 4cmX12cm, 4cmX14cm, 6cmX12cm, 6cmX14cm can cover most patients with mild to severe erectile dysfunction. The erection band is very convenient to use. Just stick it and wrap it tightly on the shaft of the penis, as shown in Figure 1c, and wear a condom to prevent the paper strip from getting wet. However, in order to prevent the pubic hair from being stuck, it is best to cut the pubic hair short.

Figure 3: Stick and wrap around the penis.

The erection band is not only suitable for mass production, but also suitable for clinical customization for patients, because it only takes a few minutes to make. The author believes that the improved erection band will become a practical choice for the treatment of erectile dysfunction due to its inherent great advantages. Unfortunately, the author was unable to conduct clinical trials. The author hopes that this article will be convenient for doctors to try, because the erection band can be easily DIY.

Disclosure

The author declares no conflict of interest in preparing this article. This study is the author’s independent research. There is no any interest to disclose.

Acknowledgement

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Conflict of Interest

None.

References

• Louis B Hawley (1907) Surgical appliance. Patent US 844: 798.
• Laurence A Levine (2004) External devices for treatment of erectile dysfunction. Endocrine 23(2-3): 157-160.
• Mingguang Yi (2019) A New Set of External Devices for the Treat­ment of Erectile Dysfunction. Adv Comple­ment Alt Med. 4(2).
• Mingguang Yi (2021) External Penile Prosthesis that can be Easily made in a Few Minutes. Am J Biomed Sci & Res. 2021 - 14(1).