Surgical Treatment:

Three Types of Surgeries:  Nesbit  |  Graphs  |  Implants

Who should consider an operation?

Candidates for surgery should fufill four basic criteria. First and foremost is severity. The risks and expense of an operation only make sense when bending or deformity is severe enough to seriously interfere with sexual function. Secondly, natural healing or spontaneous resolution should have been given an opportunity. This is usually accomplished by deferring the decision for surgery at least twelve months from the time of onset. During this time the third criteria can be satisfied - an adequete trial of some form of medical therapy. Finally, no operation should be done on a man whose condition is changing, either for the better or worse. The best surgical outcomes are in men with stable (unchanging) condition.

What are the risks of surgery?

Though surgical restoration of sexual function can be both effective and reliable, potential candidates need to understand the compromise inherent in this approach.

Each surgical procedure has its own specific risks. It is possible, however to review the more common risks in broader terms, as they apply to surgery for Peyronie's disease in general. The loss of elasticity or extensibility that occurs with the disease can reduce the length of the erection, and postoperative changes can do the same. Surgery cannot completely restore the penis to its former length or condition. Some procedures shorten the penis more than others. Likewise, some surgical options are more effective in completely straightening curvature. 

Still, every operation carries the risk of less than perfect straightening. Due to the anatomical location of sensory nerves in the penis, surgery can interfere with skin sensation. While temporary changes in sensation are common, permanent sensory loss is rare. Finally, by disturbing either blood inflow or outflow, surgery can produce either loss of erectile rigidity (hardness) or inability to maintain an erection (impotence).