[Sphincter and corpus cavernosum prostheses as components of endoprosthetics in urology]

Artificial urinary sphincters and penile corpus cavernosum prostheses are effective for patients who are not adequately treated by conservative treatment or pharmacotherapy. Both of these devices show good results concerning functional outcome if used within the correct patient selection. Penile prostheses are meant to be the last line of treatment for severe erectile dysfunction after failure of conventional treatment. Artificial urinary sphincters are the treatment of choice for severe urinary stress incontinence. Although the surgical procedure is an easy one, only highly experienced centers should perform the implantation due to minimization of infections and loss of function. Because of the hydraulic working principle of both devices, check-ups on a regular basis are strongly recommended. In the case of a loss of function or infections, a rapid and targeted treatment is the key to make new implantations possible in the future.