A variety of drugs are available to treat erectile dysfunction, but for many men, pharmaceutical treatments are not an option they can pursue. Often, men in this position will instead opt for a penile prosthesis which is implanted surgically and allows the patient to attain an erection at any time. But men choosing to treat erectile dysfunction with prosthetic implant surgery often have concerns about loss of penis length following the surgery. Now, however, a new study has found that a simple surgical technique performed at the time of implantation can maintain penile length, and in some cases, actually lengthen the penis.
The research was based on over 300 erectile dysfunction patients who underwent surgery to have a three-piece inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) inserted. To address the possible loss of penile length, the surgeons involved performed a procedure at the same time that released the suspensory ligament that anchors the penis. The procedure is a well documented technique that is also used in penile augmentation surgery.
The results from the study showed that the release of the suspensory ligament during IPP implant surgery can maintain penile length. The findings were based on patient satisfaction with penile length after IPP surgery and a substudy that measured the patient's penile length after IPP implantation, both before and after suspensory ligament release.
The actual figures showed over 90 percent of the patients reporting satisfaction with IPP performance and penile length. Importantly, none of the patients reported penile shortening, and in fact, some of them reported an increase in penile length, as compared with preoperative measurements.
For men considering a prosthetic implant, the study's authors suggest that they should also consider the release of the suspensory ligament which would allow them to maintain, or even increase, penile length, with a minimum of complications.
Based on material from the The Journal of Sexual Medicine
