Home › Blog › The P and the O Shot? Medical Treatment or Enhancement?

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There’s been an interesting trend out there for years, but one I have never really blogged on. Doctors injecting PRP into people’s genitals. More disturbing is that this is one of those areas that tends to leave the world of disease treatment and enter into enhancement. Let’s dive in.

These Are Trademarked Terms

Interestingly, these terms are trademarks. The name P-Shot® stands for the Priapus Shot®. The term was coined by Dr. Charles Runels after he first injected his own penis. He felt that Priapus, the Greek god that protected male genitalia, represented what he was trying to achieve.

The P and O Shot

I first noticed these injections being advertised about 5-6 years ago. Basically, the concept was that you would inject platelet-rich plasma into someone’s penis or vagina. Why? In the first instance, it was to treat erectile dysfunction and for the second for additional lubrication and sensation. However, these injections quickly began to jump the line of disease treatment into enhancement. Let me explain.

The Line that Should Never Be Crossed in Regenerative Medicine

In discussing why the P and O shots have gotten out of hand, we can use a sports analogy. All of us would likely agree that an athlete that gets injured might be a great candidate to use something like PRP or bone marrow concentrate to help heal that problem. However, we all also know that if the athlete’s stated goal of treatment is “bigger muscles” or “becoming faster” then that’s illegal enhancement that is clearly prohibited by the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA).

Hence in athletics, we have a pretty clear line between treating disease and enhancing performance. Where that line gets blurry is when we enter the world of sexual health.

The Actual Name of the “O” Shot

So what does the “O” stand for? It’s the “Orgasm” shot. Hence, the purpose of the shot, IMHO is already enhancement, in this case of orgasms. Here’s an ad from my area:

“Create stronger and more frequent orgasms.”

Or this:

“The Orgasm “O” Shot, is a non-surgical treatment which pledges to increase sexual arousal and rejuvenate the vagina. Patients report stronger and more frequent orgasms, increased natural lubrication and greater arousal after having the procedure.”

As you can see, some of these things like treating lubrication may be medical and some of them seem to jump that line into enhancement. How about the P-Shot?

The P-Shot®

While the initial goal of this injection was treating the medical condition of erectile dysfunction or Peyronie’s Disease, it’s pretty easy to find stuff like this online:

“Does the P shot Increase Size?
Results vary widely when it comes to gaining length or girth with the P-shot. Some men experience up to 1.3 inches of length and 1.1 inches of girth, but some may not experience any size changes. About 40% of men experience 20% of growth. So, your size experience is based on your initial size prior to treatment.”

If that’s not an enhancement, I’m not sure what is!

Is There Any Research that this Stuff Works?

I could find no randomized trials showing that either of these procedures is effective. So the answer is that we don’t know at this point. There was one case series on the p-shot that seemed to show that it helped erectile dysfunction.

The upshot? Treating sexual diseases with regenerative treatments is as valid as treating any other disease, as long we have good data to back up that treatment. However, IMHO, a simple Google search shows that both the P and O shot procedures have clearly jumped that line from disease management to enhancement. That concept, in principle, is no different than an athlete who comes to my office wanting me to inject stem cells to give him or her bigger muscles. I generally tell those patients to leave the office. Hence, IMHO, physicians involved in regenerative medicine who are marketing these procedures to enhance sexual organs have crossed a very bright line that should never be crossed. Or at least not if we want to be taken seriously as a field. Plus it’s really hard for me to say P-Shot® without giggling like a second grader!

Chris Centeno, MD is a specialist in regenerative medicine and the new field of Interventional Orthopedics. Centeno pioneered orthopedic stem cell procedures in 2005 and is responsible for a large amount of the published research on stem cell use for orthopedic applications. View Profile