Impact of Surgical Treatment of Penile Fracture on Sexual Function

To conduct a comprehensive assessment of sexual function of patients undergoing surgical treatment of penile fracture (PF), covering psychological aspects related to trauma.

Patients undergoing surgical treatment of PF from January 2014 to August 2017 were followed-up in our department for at least 6 months. The patients underwent a detailed clinical follow-up, including physical examination and were interviewed about any evidence of erectile dysfunction, penile nodules, or curvature acquired after surgery, besides psychological sexual problems.

A total of 58 patients conducted the follow-up. The mean age was 38.5 years (range: 18-66 years). Eight (13.7%) patients complained of penile curvature after surgery. Postoperative erectile function was recovered after 6 months in 50 (86.2%) cases. After the last evaluation at 18 months, only 1 patient developed persistent erectile dysfunction (ED) and color duplex Doppler ultrasound excluded a vascular etiology. Psycho-sexual evaluations showed that 45 (77.5%) patients feared a new episode of PF. Changes in sexual habits, such as avoiding vigorous sexual intercourse, was reported by 40 (68.9%) patients. Finally, patients with performance anxiety and those who reported a negative impact on sexual life were more susceptible to the development of ED (P = .0337 and P = .0418, respectively).

Sexual complications after surgical treatment of PF are unusual but may occur in the late postoperative period and should be treated. Psychological sequela is very common, causing fear of recurrence and psychogenic ED, resulting in negative impact on the sexual life of these patients, which should be monitored closely.