Three piece penile prosthesis salvage with chlorhexidine gluconate and length preservation: our technique and...

Since the advent of the Mulcahy technique of three-piece inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) salvage, there have been multiple iterations of salvage prosthesis procedures reported in the literature. All of these techniques employ traditional antibiotic irrigation with or without rechanneling. We present our technique of salvage IPP using 0.05% chlorhexidine gluconate (Irrisept^®) with corporal rechanneling for length preservation.

Our technique of IPP salvage begins with access via a 5 cm vertical midline scrotal incision. Dissection down to the corpora is performed with a combination of blunt dissection and dissection with fine tipped Metzenbaum scissors. Each component of the prior IPP is sequentially removed starting with the cylinders, followed by the pump, and finally the reservoir. Irrisept^® is used to copiously irrigate out both cavernosal bodies as well as the scrotal compartment and prior reservoir location. A two minute dwell time of the Irrisept^® is employed after mechanical irrigation. A penrose drain is placed from the space of Retzius through a separate stab incision in the scrotum. Corporotomies are closed, followed by Dartos fascia and scrotal skin. A complete change in gown and gloves of all members of the surgical team and a new set of drapes and instruments is performed. Through a separate subcoronal incision, two new corporotomies are made and separate channels created using nine inch Metzenbaum scissors. These channels are irrigated with Irrisept^®. A 9 mm malleable penile prosthesis (MPP) is inserted and corporotomies and skin incision are closed.

A total of four men with prior penoscrotal IPP placement underwent salvage IPP with MPP from January 2022 to October 2022. Median operative time was 165 minutes. Median preoperative cylinder size was 23.5 cm. Median postoperative malleable cylinder size was 23 cm. Median length of follow up was 4.8 months. There were no cases of MPP erosion or infection. Two patients elected to undergo repeat IPP insertion after 6 months with same cylinder size.

IPP salvage with chlorhexidine irrigation and soak as well as separate corporal channeling in a noninfected field for MPP insertion is a viable strategy for infected prostheses given the ease of performance, low risk of repeat infection of the malleable device, and maintenance of corporal length of any subsequent prostheses.