Suction device therapy in the management of erectile impotence.

The ErecAid System is based on the simple concept of entrapment of blood in the penis following vacuum-assisted penile engorgement by proximally placed elastic constriction bands. The SYNERGIST Erection System is a semirigid external appliance shaped like a condom that is left on the penis after vacuum tumescence has been achieved. Both devices can be used safely by any man who feels that he has an impotence problem, and the outcome is fairly predictable. These devices seem to be especially effective in men with partial impotence, and they offer the impotent man an alternative to surgical placement of penile prosthesis, a surgical revascularization procedure, intracavernosal injection of vasoactive drugs, or sexual abstinence. These devices appear to be safe and relatively inexpensive ways for the impotent man to make his penis rigid enough to engage in sexual intercourse. An impotent man who selects suction-device therapy may still be able to use other forms of treatment should he need or choose it.