OXFORD, ENGLAND — Italian researchers say they have discovered a penis-extension treatment that can increase the flaccid length of man’s most prized possession by up to 32-percent and improve erectile function by up to 36-percent, according to an article in the current edition of clinical urology journal BJU International.A clinical trial at San Giovanni Battista Hospital at the University of Turin studied 21 patients with an average age of 47 over a period of 12 months. The results of the study indicate the penile extender employed may represent a viable alternative to surgery for men with performance issues, the lead researcher wrote in his report.

“Having undergone psychosexual counseling to make sure that the treatment would be beneficial, the men were asked to wear the Andro-Penis device for between four and six hours a day for six months,” researcher Dr. Paolo Gontero told the journal. “The device comprises a plastic ring, two dynamic rods that produce the traction and a silicon band to hold the penis in place. The men were told to increase the traction from 600g in month one to up to 1200g in month six. Follow-ups were performed in months one, three, six and 12.”

According to the journal article, trial participants wore the device for an average of five hours daily in the first month, five hours daily in the third month and four hours daily in the sixth month. By the end of the study, the average flaccid penis length was 3.72 inches, a growth of .9 inches from the baseline average length of 2.82 inches. No significant increase in girth, which average 4.09 inches, occurred.

The participants reported high satisfaction levels in all categories except penile girth, which they apparently had hoped to increase, the article noted.

Gontero said he believes the results were significant.

“Our study showed that the penile extender device produces an effective and durable lengthening of the penis, both in the flaccid and stretched state,” he wrote in the journal report. “If these results are confirmed by further research, we propose that the device should be used as a first-line treatment option for men seeking a penile-lengthening procedure.”

To date, surgery has been the preferred corrective method, he noted.

“A number of surgical procedures are available that aim to elongate the shaft of the penis or enlarge the penile girth,” Gontero wrote. “However these have a number of disadvantages, including a lack of standardization, potential risk of complications and high patient dissatisfaction. It should also be pointed out that the majority of men who seek help for a small penis fail to meet the clinical criteria for surgery.”