Penile venous ligation surgery for the management of cavernosal venous leakage

Forty-one patients underwent penile venous ligation surgery for pure cavernosal venous leakage diagnosed by infusion cavernosometry and cavernosography. Before surgery, arterial integrity was assessed by pelvic angiography, and all patients were found to have a normal penile arterial system. The patients were divided into two groups on the basis of the type of venous operation performed. The overall complete-potency success rate was 46% (19 of 41 patients). Postoperative complications were minimal. Our experience shows that penile venous surgery remains an acceptable option for treatment of carefully selected patients with documented pure cavernosal venous leakage of a mild degree who have no evidence of arterial insufficiency and who do not prefer, or are not suitable for, other medical or surgical treatment options. Patients who had more severe degrees of cavernosal venous leakage had a poor result from this procedure. For patients with moderate to severe venous leakage, we now perform a combined surgical procedure, deep dorsal vein arterialization and venous ligation.