500 penile prostheses implanted by a surgeon in Italy in the last 30 years

The aim of our study was to report our experience with patients affected by Erectile Dysfunction (ED) and undergoing penile prosthetic implantation (PPI) in a single center by a single surgeon.

We retrospectively evaluated the clinical outcome of 500 patients (mean age: 51.5 years, range: 20-86 years) affected by ED and referred to our private andrological center from January 1984 to December 2013 who underwent penile prosthesis implantation, including the reported level of patient satisfaction.

182 silicone, 180 malleable, 18 monocomponent hydraulic and 120 multicomponents hydraulic prostheses were implanted by the same experienced surgeon. All patients were hospitalized for the procedure. All patients were evaluated immediately, 1 month (496 patients) and, for the great majority, every year after implantation. One hundred twenty five patients were lost to follow-up. Twenty two patients underwent revision surgery for complications in the postoperative period. The most serious postoperative complications were mechanical problems (45 patients, 9.0%) and infection (15 patients, 3%). Forty two (8.4%) prostheses were explanted. Overall, 80% (400/500) of patients were able to have sexual intercourse and were fully satisfied with the results.

In our experience prosthetic surgery should be considered a good solution for men affected by ED and not responsive to other therapeutic solutions. Prosthetic surgery can be performed not only in large public hospitals but also in smaller private facilities.