Because there was the increasing demand for natural treatment options for erectile dysfunction, the medical community sought ways and tested new technologies that can be used to address the problem. The result was the introduction of penile implants or penile prostheses that were initially introduced three decades ago. The use of these implants is recommended if the usual route for ED treatments no longer work. Though the use of these implants help and offer positive results, the problem is that this is not a popular treatment option for ED. It is recommended that these implants should only be used if there’s a clear medical cause for ED and when the problem can’t be solved or rectified naturally using medical and natural treatment options.
What you should know about penile implants?
These are simply devices that are placed inside the male genitalia that allow men with ED to still get an erection.
2 Types of penile implants
There are two types of penis prostheses, the external like vacuum constriction devices and internal implants. For the purpose of general understanding, the penile implants are those that are placed inside penis through surgery.
- Internal Implants: The surgery will take 45 minutes to an hour to finish. The procedure will calls for an incision just below the head of the penis, at the base or in the lower abdomen. The next step calls for the stretching of the spongy tissue in the penis that will be filled with blood when the penis is erect. The tissue can be found on each of the two hollow chambers called corpora cavernosa. To prevent infection, an anti-biotic fluid will be flushed into the area. After this, the surgeon will then select the correct size of the penile implants and these will be placed the implant cylinders inside the organ.
- Inflatable Penile Prosthesis: This will include two cylinders, the reservoir and the pump that are placed in the body through surgery. These two cylinders are placed inside the penis and connected by tubing to another reservoir of fluid. This reservoir is placed just under the groin muscles. The pump on the other hand is placed under the loose skin of the scrotal sac in between the testicles. In order to inflate the device, the pump must be pressed. Through this action, the pump will then transfer the fluid from the reservoir to the cylinders inserted into the penis, thus inflating these. And by pressing on the deflation valve, the fluid returns thus deflating the organ.
Once the penis has been inflated, the prosthesis will make the organ hard and stiff, just like a normal erection. The only drawback of this procedure is that the erection is considered as shorter if compared to the natural erection.
Potential side effects of penile implants
There are some potential side effects that are associated with the use of these implants.
Pain: Pain can be felt in the first few days after the surgery. You can also feel the pain during your first sex after surgery. Most of the time, the pain will subside after a few weeks though there were reports of chronic pain as well.
Infection: This can be considered if the pain remains after 2 months of surgery. There is also an increased risk for infection if the patient is known to have diabetes, spinal cord injuries or have open sores.
Allergy: There is a chance of allergy since the penile implants are usually made from synthetic materials. If an allergic reaction has been noted, the penile implant should be removed.
Abnormal shape and curvature of the penis: Also, the use of these penile implants can result to scarring, curvature or shortening of the penis.
Just like any form of surgery, complications should be part of the risk. The other side effects that you should be aware of includes scar tissue formation, uncontrolled bleeding right after surgery and the possibility of another operation, erosion and mechanical failure.
Penile implants are the last option and should be considered if the treatment options like medications are no longer effective.
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