Serial assessment of efficacy and satisfaction profiles following penile prosthesis surgery

Penile implants are associated with a high level of patient satisfaction. Studies to date have failed to use instruments that accurately record patient satisfaction data. We used 2 validated instruments to assess the chronology of efficacy and satisfaction profiles in men undergoing penile prosthetic surgery.

Men who elected penile implant surgery were administered the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaire preoperatively, and 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively as well as the Erectile Dysfunction Inventory of Treatment Satisfaction (EDITS) questionnaire 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Comparison was done of preoperative and postoperative values for the overall IIEF, IIEF erectile function domain, IIEF satisfaction domain and EDITS. All surgeries were primary and in all patients an inflatable implant device was placed.

A total of 96 men with a mean age of 56 years were enrolled in the study. All 12-month scores were statistically significantly higher than baseline scores. The 12-month values were statistically higher than 6-month values for the IIEF satisfaction domain and for EDITS.

This study indicates that implant surgery causes a dramatic improvement in erectile function. It also indicates that satisfaction increases in year 1 after implant surgery with significant improvements in the second half of year 1. Current efforts are aimed at following this cohort of patients in an even more long-term fashion as well as evaluating partner satisfaction profiles. These findings should permit clinicians to provide penile prosthesis candidates with optimistic and realistic expectations for implant device function and postoperative satisfaction.