Laparascopic capsulotomy to treat autoinflation of inflatable penile prostheses

Inflatable penile prosthetic implants are a reliable treatment for erectile dysfunction. Mechanical failures now are the most common reason for revision of this type of device, and autoinflation is a common cause for device revision. There are currently no published surgical treatments for this malfunction.

To describe a simple outpatient surgical revision for an automatically inflating device using laparascopic dissection.

Complete deflation of penile prosthesis on follow-up visit, intraoperative and postsurgical complications, and length of procedure.

We performed a retrospective review of patients treated for inflatable penile prosthesis autoinflation with laparascopic capsulotomy to release constricting connective tissue rind surrounding the device reservoir at a single institution. We collected information about etiology of impotence, surgical procedures relating to implant and revision of prosthetic devices, and follow-up evaluations.

Four patients underwent laparascopic capsulotomy to treat autoinflation. Mean operative time was 45 minutes, and no adverse surgical or perioperative outcomes occurred. All four patients had deflated corporal cylinders at the time of follow-up evaluation.

Laparascopic capsulotomy is an easy and reliable method of treating inflatable penile prosthesis autoinflation that can be performed in the outpatient setting.