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[Erectile dysfunction in Peyronie's disease. Experience in 132 patients]
1Unità Operativa di Urologia, Ospedale di Sondrio, ASL 9, Via Stelvio 25, 23100 Sondrio, Italy.
Background:
The exact percentage of sexual dysfunctions resulting from Peyronie's disease remains very difficult to evaluate even today. The purpose of the present paper is to examine the series observed in our Department in order to make an assessment of the erectile function of patients found to be suffering from Peyronie's disease.
Methods:
Over the course of 9 years, 132 patients have come to our observation; they were originally examined for sexual function disturbances or for other pathologies of a uro-andrological nature.
Results:
In all, a total of 208 lesions were observed. Only 21 patients (22.5%) were found to be completely asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis. The most frequent symptom was shaft curvature (alone or in association with pain: 47%). The most commonly observed site for plaques was the back of the corpus cavernosum (43%). Impotentia erigendi was observed in 29 patients (22%) whereas impotentia coeundi was found in 50 (38). The functionally most significant lesions were those affecting the septum or in some way involved with the septum: 19 of 29 patients with impotentia erigendi presented such lesions.
Conclusions:
Considering the generally progressive course of the disease, the therapeutic approach taken by our Department is to fit a prosthesis to patients who have been suffering from Peyronie's disease for at least six months; conservative therapy is only undertaken in the rare cases of patients who have a perfectly preserved erection but who suffer from impotentia coeundi (as a result of curvature or pain).