Penile implants in the treatment of organic impotence

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reliability and safety of penile implants in the treatment of organic impotence at the Saudi Aramco - Dhahran Health Center.

METHODS: A series of 108 cases of organic impotence that underwent 125 penile implantation procedures between 1988 and 1997 was reviewed. The follow-up period ranged between 6 months and 10 years. The mean age was 57.9 years (range 26-76). The prostheses used were AMS (American Medical System) inflatable (92 cases) and malleable (16 cases).

RESULTS: There were no complications in 86 patients, (80%) who had functioning prostheses all through the follow-up period. Revision of the implants was required in 13 patients (14%). The causes of revision were severe infection, intolerable pain from an oversized malleable prosthesis, and dysfunction of the inflatable prostheses. Removal of the implant was necessary in severe infection, intolerable pain, and extrusion of the prosthesis. All 9 patients (8%) had inflatable prostheses and refused a second implant. There was no single mortality among our series. The overall procedure complications involved 26 out of 125 procedures (21%). It was shown that malleable penile prostheses have significantly lower procedure complications than the inflatable ones (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION: Penile implants are reliable and safe modality of treatment for organic impotence with acceptable morbidity.