Peyronie's disease: a review

This review is aimed to summarize the most recent findings about this topic, by reviewing the literature published in 2002 and 2003 regarding the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of Peyronie's disease.

Although many aspects in pathophysiology, diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment of Peyronie's disease still remain under debate, recent interesting advances have been made regarding the different aspects of this condition. Topical and systemic medical therapies have been associated with varying degrees of results, depending on modalities and timing of the treatment itself. A wide range of surgical modalities have been recently developed, although the ideal surgical procedure especially in case of severe and complex curvature does not seem to be reached yet. Furthermore this condition is often associated with psychological distress that could be responsible for performance anxiety, leading to improvement of abnormalities in erectile functioning eventually associated with Peyronie's disease.

Peyronie's disease consists of an acquired penile deformity caused by the formation of fibrous plaques within the tunica albuginea, leading to bio-mechanical and vascular abnormalities. In the last decade numerous advances have been made regarding pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of this condition, allowing for improved patient clinical prognosis. Nevertheless, although improvements in medical and surgical therapies have substantially increased the successful patients' outcome rate, Peyronie's disease is still not completely understood and its treatment remains often frustrating for the practicing urologist. Clinical presentations of this disease include penile deformities or shortening during erection, painful erection, palpable plaque or induration throughout the length of the penile shaft and erectile dysfunction.