Optimization of design and surgical positioning of inflatable penile prostheses

The interaction between the cylinders of an inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) and the surrounding tissues during IPP-aided erection may result in local elevated stresses. These stresses may reach values that can obstruct penile blood vessels and cause ischemia and/or stimulate nerves around the operation site, thereby inducing sensations of pain. A new numerical model was used to analyze penile stresses postimplantation of different IPP types, in order to optimize prosthesis design and surgical positioning by enabling minimal stress transfer to dorsal blood vessels and nerves. The results suggest that intraluminal pressures should be maintained at low levels (about 80 kPa) while cylinder thickness and stiffness should be kept just high enough (approximately 15% of the radius and 1000 MPa, respectively) to eliminate deleterious cylinder-tissue contact stresses. Smaller prosthetic cylinders, i.e., occupying about 45% of the cavernosal space, may be advantageous in terms of reducing dorsal stresses, but lower penile rigidity should be expected. A significant decrease of dorsal stresses can also be achieved by encouraging the surgeon to position the cylinders toward the lower part of the corpora. The numerical simulations indicate that circular cylinders may allow greater biomechanical compatibility of the IPP with the penis structure than elliptic ones, and this should be a subject for clinical investigations.