ED: Treatment - Surgery

Surgery usually has one of three goals:

    • to implant a device that can cause the penis to become erect
    • to reconstruct arteries to increase flow of blood to the penis
    • to block off veins that allow blood to leak from the penile tissues
Implanted devices, known as prostheses, can restore erection in many men with ED. Possible problems with implants include mechanical breakdown and infection, although mechanical problems have diminished in recent years because of technological advances.

Malleable implants usually consist of paired rods, which are inserted surgically into the corpora cavernosa. The user manually adjusts the position of the penis and, therefore, the rods. Adjustment does not affect the width or length of the penis.

Inflatable implants consist of paired cylinders, which are surgically inserted inside the penis and can be expanded using pressurized fluid. Tubes connect the cylinders to a fluid reservoir and a pump, which are also surgically implanted. The patient inflates the cylinders by pressing on the small pump, located under the skin in the scrotum. Inflatable implants can expand the length and width of the penis somewhat. They also leave the penis in a more natural state when not inflated.

Surgery to repair arteries can reduce ED caused by obstructions that block the flow of blood. The best candidates for such surgery are young men with discrete blockage of an artery because of an injury to the crotch or fracture of the pelvis. The procedure is almost never successful in older men with widespread blockage.

Surgery to veins that allow blood to leave the penis usually involves an opposite procedure—intentional blockage. Blocking off veins (ligation) can reduce the leakage of blood that diminishes the rigidity of the penis during erection. However, experts have raised questions about the long-term effectiveness of this procedure, and it is rarely done.






Source: National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NKUDIC) (December 2005). Erectile Dysfunction (NIH Publication No. 06–3923). Retrieved March 3, 2008, from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Web site: http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/impotence/index.htm

Diabetes Topic Posted by David Mangusan Jr., PTRP

Labels: , ,