Is there a place for conservative treatment in Peyronie's disease?

Peyronie's disease (PD) is a relatively common disorder affecting middle aged men. Conservative nonsurgical treatments include oral, topical, and intra-lesional pharmacotherapies, vacuum stretching, and mechanical traction.

Four people with expertise and/or interest in the area of PD were asked to contribute their opinions with regard to the safety and efficacy of nonsurgical conservative treatments.

To provide food for thought, discussion, and possible further research in a poorly discussed area of sexual medicine.

Of the four experts writing on the topic, one believes a combination of medical therapy and penile traction has positive potential for curvature. Another feels that although medical therapies have potential to alleviate pain, there is little evidence to show that they help with curvature or that penile traction helps. A third expert proposes dividing the disease into phases, where patients in the acute phase may benefit from conservative therapy, whereas patients whose disease is stable require surgical intervention. The last expert agrees that the therapy should depend on the stage of the disease, but believes like the first expert that there is a role for traction therapy for patients with stable disease.

There is a need for guidelines for nonsurgical therapies for patients with PD, but there is a paucity of evidence as to their efficacy.