Non-Infectious Reservoir-Related Complications During and After Penile Prosthesis Placement

Inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) surgery offers a high satisfaction rate and low rate of complications when performed by experienced surgeons. However, reservoir placement, either in the space of Retzius (SOR), or alternative/ectopic locations, may lead to an array of serious complications that may require revision surgery.

To review the prevalence and management options for non-infectious intraoperative and postoperative complications related to prosthetic reservoirs.

A Medline PubMed search was used to identify articles related to IPP reservoir-related complications including bladder and bowel injury, vascular injury, autoinflation, herniation, palpability, leakage, and tubing torsion.

Rates and types of reservoir-related complications during and after IPP surgery.

Non-infectious reservoir-related complications in the intraoperative setting include injury to pelvic structures such as bladder, bowel, and blood vessels. In the postoperative setting, patients may experience autoinflation and reservoir herniation that might require revision surgery. Patients undergoing alternative reservoir placement (ARP) may complain of reservoir palpability and premature mechanical failure secondary to reservoir leakage or tubing torsion.

Although most surgeons continue to use the SOR as the main location for reservoir placement, ARP has gained popularity owing to its low risk of bother, minimal loss of functionality, and safety advantages in patients with history of pelvic surgery. Both reservoir placement in the SOR and ARP carry a low rate of complications while maintaining a high satisfaction rate. Clavell-Hernández J, Shah A, Wang R. Non-Infectious Reservoir-Related Complications During and After Penile Prosthesis Placement. Sex Med Rev 2019;7:521-529.