ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To describe the long-term experience with the implantation of a penile prosthesis as a last resort treatment for erectile dysfunction. DESIGN: Retrospective and descriptive. METHOD: During the period 1986-1996, 124 men received a penile prosthesis. Basic information was obtained from medical files. Seventy-six men could be traced and were sent a questionnaire. Sixty patients and 44 partners participated in the study. RESULTS: The median time since the implantation was 81.3 months (range: 13-139). The chance of reoperation was 35%. Seventeen percent of the patients and 25% of the spouses regretted the decision to have the implantation. Thirty-one percent no longer used the prosthesis and 15% had never used it. Twenty percent of the patients and 31% of the partners noticed an improvement in their sexual relationship whereas 26% and 23% respectively noticed a decline. Twenty percent of the patients sometimes failed to penetrate despite the prosthesis. Nevertheless, 66% would advise implantation to someone else. Almost 50% of the men reported spontaneous tumescence during sexual arousal. CONCLUSION: After the implantation of a penile prosthesis, the reoperation rate was high, and many patients and their partners were dissatisfied with their sexual relationship despite regaining a functional erection. Implantation requires thorough sexological counselling both before and after the operation.
