Vacuum erectile device for penile rehabilitation

The vacuum erectile device (VED) uses negative pressure to increase blood inflow and oxygen into the corpora cavernosum, with a ring at the base of the penis to maintain the erection for intercourse or without a ring for penile rehabilitation. As the limitation of phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (PDE5I) showed in the treatment of refractory erectile dysfunction (ED), the use of VED resurged and is becoming the first-line therapy in treatment of ED after radical prostatectomy. Currently, the combination therapy of VED and PDE5I and of VED and intracavernous injection are advocated. Furthermore, there has been increasing interest in the use of VED to preserve penile length in inflatable penile prosthesis preoperation procedure and Peyronie's disease. Hereby, we reviewed the underlying mechanisms, the status of VED in penile rehabilitation, the combination therapy and the expanded use of VED.