Penile calcification in maintenance hemodialysis patients

Penile calcification was detected in 6 of 32 patients (19%) with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) using soft tissue x-ray techniques. Having been maintained on hemodialysis for a minimum of one year, all the affected patients showed clinical evidence of secondary hyperparathyroidism and calcification in the blood vessels of some other tissues. All had erectile impotence, while in 1 patient gangrene of the penis developed. Penile calcification is probably more common in ESRD patients than realized and should be looked for as a possible cause of impotence in male patients treated with maintenance hemodialysis.