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I had my prostate removed last week. The Dr saved 50% of the nerves on both sides. He prescribed a medical VED for me to use daily for a year.

The company called and said insurance won't cover it so my cost will be $173.

I already have a very strong battery-operated pump I got on Amazon.

Is there any significant difference? If there is I'll gladly buy the new one but I don't want to waste money if there's no difference.

You might want to check with the insurance and find out why they won't cover it, code, etc. Then check with your doctor and see if he can rewrite the script and code it differently. The doctor may be able to easily fix the refusal, or not, but you won't know until you try.

The medical grade pumps are generally more durable and are certainly better for using constriction rings if you decide to use those. Otherwise I don't know. It seems most guys that opine on the topic seem to think the sex shop pumps work nearly as well. However that's not my experience.

Medical grade pumps are designed to use restriction rings. They can also be used for daily exercises.

If you are happy with the pump you have , there is no advantage to spend that kind of money for a medical grade pump. The one you have will work perfectly for daily exercises.

If you don’t need it to place a constriction ring, it creates a vacuum. Both medical grade and cheap ones will do that. Will medical grade ones be more durable? Likely. Will the vacuum they create be different than the vacuum created by a cheap one? I can’t see how.

I’m in the “cheap” camp. I’ll spend large amounts of money when it makes a difference. I don’t see how it does here.

I use a VED for the stretch every morning in the shower. I buy the cheapest one I can find on Amazon. I don’t need a pressure gauge. I can FEEL when I have a strong suction. It’s slightly uncomfortable, but not painful. Good enough. I soap up, shampoo, rinse off. That way I get about 20 minutes in the VED every morning. I’ve maintained my length/girth.

If the VED gets ruined by the water in the shower I don’t care. It cost me around $15 and I’ll just buy another.

If a medical grade one does something better for you, by all means, spend the extra money. But I did the calculation and have decided this is the best option for my use.

If you are only using a pump for exercise go with a cheap one from Amazon.

You should look for a cylinder with a wide base rim, preferably a flanged base rim. The more comfortable the base, the longer you can sustain your session.