Medical Studies

A Pilot Study on the Early use of
the Vacuum Erection Device after
Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy

 

Benefits from Utilizing a VED Early in Recovery: 1 month vs. 6 months.

Tobia S. Kohler, Renato Pedro, Kari Hendlin, William Utz, Roland Ugarte, Pratap Reddy, Antoine Maklouf, Igor Ryndin, Benjamin K. Canales, Dreck Weiland, Nissrine Nakib, Anup Ramani, J. Kyle Anderson and Manoj Monga – Read full study

  • 28 patients were randomized after RP for Early Intervention
  • Penile Rehab Program: 10 minutes daily without Constriction Band
  • Compliance with Rehab Protocol excellent with no difficulties reported.
  • 70% of the patients not on a Penile rehab protocol showed significant penile shortening.
  • IIEF Scores: International Index of Erectile Function
Study Group 3 Month Follow-Up 6 Month Follow-Up
1 month after RP 11.5 1.8
3 month after RP 12.4 3.0

 

“Initiating the use of VED protocol at 1 month after RP improves early sexual function and helps to preserve penile length.”
 
“Many men in Group 1 commented on how they felt empowered and were please to be taking an active role in their penile rehabilitation.”

 

 

Vacuum Therapy Has A Significant Role 
in Penile Rehabilitation.

 

The concept of Penile Rehabilitation after Radical Prostatectomy is no widely accepted in clinical practice. The goals of penile rehabilitation are to improve penile oxygenation, prevent program cell death and promote early recovery of erection.

  • Vacuum Therapy is now recognized as a Rehabilitation tool!
  • The use of Vacuum Therapy as a Rehab. Modality can maximize the number of erections produced- (A benefit that other methods cannot match).
  • Vacuum Therapy improves both patient and partner sexual satisfaction and allows earlier return to spontaneous erection.
  • Vacuum Therapy can prevent penile shrinkage and maintain penile length.
  • Vacuum Therapy has a better compliance rate then penile injection.
  • Vacuum Therapy has a statistically higher erectile function recovery rate and penile length maintenance compared to all traditional intervention.
  • O2 Saturation of corporeal blood immediately after Vacuum Therapy-Induced Erections was mean 79.2%, compared with 94.5% in arterial blood & 54.7% in venous blood.
  • Findings show that vacuum therapy induced erections have 58% arterial blood origin and 42% venous blood origin.
  • Vacuum Therapy is the most cost effective treatment-compared with frequent use of oral agents or penile injections.

The Role of Vacuum Therapy in Penile Rehabilitation

Run Wang, MD, FACS
Associate Professor and Cecil M. Crigler, MD Chair in Urology, Director of Sexual
Medicine, University of Texas Medical School at Houston and MD Anderson Cancer,
Houston, Texas.
Jiuhong Yuan, MD, MHA
Urology Fellow, Division of Urology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston,
Houston, Texas