A curved penis can be straightened through several approaches depending on the cause, severity, and how long you’ve had it. Mild curvature that doesn’t interfere with sex or cause pain typically doesn’t need treatment. But when curvature exceeds 30 degrees or makes intercourse difficult or painful, a range of options exists, from traction devices and injections to surgery.
The right approach depends on whether the curve is something you were born with or something that developed over time, and whether the condition is still changing or has stabilized.
What’s Causing the Curve
Penile curvature falls into two categories, and they work differently at a tissue level. Congenital curvature (sometimes called chordee) is present from birth. It results from the way the penis formed during development, not from scar tissue. It stays roughly the same over your lifetime: it won’t get worse, but it also won’t correct itself.
Peyronie’s disease is the acquired form. It develops when scar tissue (called plaque) builds up inside the penis, usually after repeated minor injuries during sex or physical activity that you may not even notice at the time. The plaque makes one side of the penis less flexible, pulling it into a curve during erection. Peyronie’s has two phases: an active phase, when the plaque is still forming and pain is common, and a stable phase, when the curvature stops changing. Most treatments work best once the disease has stabilized, which usually takes 12 to 18 months.
When Treatment Is Recommended
Not every curve requires medical intervention. Many men have a slight bend that causes no problems. Treatment is generally considered when curvature causes pain, prevents comfortable intercourse, or creates significant psychological distress. The FDA-approved injection therapy for Peyronie’s disease is specifically approved for curves greater than 30 degrees, which serves as a rough clinical threshold for when active treatment makes sense.
Traction Devices
Penile traction therapy uses a mechanical device to apply gentle, sustained stretching to the penis. The idea is to gradually remodel the scar tissue over weeks or months. Older protocols required wearing a device for three to eight hours daily for up to six months, which most men found impractical. A 2019 randomized controlled trial from Mayo Clinic tested a newer traction system used for just 30 to 90 minutes daily over three months and found measurable improvements.
Traction is often used alongside other treatments rather than as a standalone fix. It can complement injection therapy or serve as a first step for men who want to try a nonsurgical approach. The results tend to be modest compared to surgery, but the low risk profile makes it a reasonable starting point.
Injection Therapy
The only FDA-approved medication for Peyronie’s disease is an injectable enzyme that breaks down the collagen in scar tissue. It’s delivered directly into the plaque through a series of office visits. Each treatment cycle involves two injections spaced one to three days apart, with cycles repeated every six weeks. Most treatment plans involve one to four cycles total.
In clinical trials, patients saw an average curvature reduction of about 23 degrees after two injections. This can be the difference between painful intercourse and functional sex. The treatment works best for men whose disease has stabilized and whose curvature falls in the moderate range. It’s approved specifically for curves over 30 degrees.
Oral Supplements and Medications
You’ll find plenty of recommendations online for vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, and various supplements marketed for Peyronie’s disease. The evidence doesn’t support them. The American Urological Association explicitly recommends against using vitamin E, tamoxifen, omega-3 fatty acids, or combinations of vitamin E with L-carnitine for this condition. The International Consultation on Sexual Medicine reached the same conclusion: no oral agents have proven effective enough for routine clinical use.
A couple of oral medications haven’t been ruled out entirely, but they lack the large-scale clinical trials needed to confirm they work. For now, no pill reliably straightens a curved penis.
Shockwave Therapy
Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) uses focused sound waves directed at the plaque. It’s widely marketed for Peyronie’s disease, but the evidence for straightening is weak. In a prospective study, average curvature went from 48.3 degrees to 42.5 degrees after treatment, a change that wasn’t statistically significant overall. A subgroup of men with moderate curvature (31 to 60 degrees) did see meaningful improvement, but the results were inconsistent across the broader population.
Where shockwave therapy does show clear benefit is pain relief. In the same study, 76% of men with penile pain experienced significant improvement. So if pain is your primary complaint during the active phase, shockwave therapy may help with that specific symptom, even if it doesn’t substantially change the curve itself.
Surgical Options
Surgery offers the most reliable correction and is typically recommended once the disease has been stable for at least three to six months. There are three main approaches, each with tradeoffs.
Plication
This is the simplest surgical option. The surgeon places sutures on the longer side of the penis to match the shorter, curved side. Two common techniques (the 16-dot method and modified Nesbit plication) achieve complete straightening in roughly 88 to 90% of patients. The main downside is some penile shortening, since the procedure works by effectively shortening the longer side. For men with congenital curvature, the rate of postoperative length loss and new erectile problems is significantly lower than for Peyronie’s patients.
Grafting
When curvature is severe or when preserving length is a priority, the surgeon cuts into or removes the plaque and patches the area with graft tissue. This approach corrects the curve without shortening the longer side, but it’s a more complex procedure with a longer recovery and a higher risk of affecting erectile function afterward.
Penile Implants
For men who have both significant curvature and erectile dysfunction, an inflatable penile implant can address both problems at once. Up to 90% of men are sufficiently straightened simply by inflating the cylinders after placement. If residual curvature remains, the surgeon can add plication sutures during the same procedure, correcting an additional 5 to 8 degrees. This combined approach is considered quick and reliable with minimal added risk.
Choosing the Right Approach
The best treatment path depends on several factors: whether you have Peyronie’s disease or congenital curvature, how severe the bend is, whether you’re still in the active phase, and whether erectile function is affected. Men in the active phase of Peyronie’s disease, where the curve is still changing or pain is present, are generally advised to wait before pursuing surgery or injections. Traction and pain management can bridge this period.
Once the condition stabilizes, men with moderate curvature (30 to 60 degrees) and intact erections are often good candidates for injection therapy or plication. Those with severe curvature, significant shortening, or coexisting erectile dysfunction may benefit more from grafting or an implant. Congenital curvature that’s severe enough to warrant treatment responds well to plication, with lower complication rates than Peyronie’s repairs.