The drug forces blood into the penis, causing an erection in a short time that lasts about 30 minutes. MUSE is a treatment option for all men with erectile dysfunction and is offered at the Center for Male Sexual Health. The treatment is effective in approximately 50 percent of patients. Other therapies for impotence have higher success rates but involve injections. Additionally, in young men who are impotent due to injury of their penile artery, penile bypass surgery can restore the ability to have an erection.
Injuries represent a small percentage of the physical causes of impotence.
Physical problems cause impotence in approximately 90 percent of cases, and most of these result from diminished blood supply. In fact, impotence may be the first sign of a vascular problem. Less common physical causes include neurologic or hormonal abnormalities and side effects of medications. Pure psychological problems account for only about 10 percent of all impotence. However, impotence often causes relationship difficulties that may benefit from counseling, Mulhall said.