The surgery trims this back. Afterward one commonly applies stretching devices or weights. It tells of several dozen men whose operations went awry, ranging from lumps, hollows, scar tissue, etc. A 1996 account by Wessells et al in the same journal says much the same thing. It's uncertain what causes Peyronie's disease, although a popular theory at the moment is damage to the penis during sex.
Treatment can include vitamin E, drugs, and, as a last resort, surgery.
In such cases the knife is the only recourse. It's the vanity cases you have to wonder about, which brings us back to the general issue of cosmetic surgery on a part of the body that isn't normally in public view. God forbid we should have people walking around with diminished self-esteem, although it seems to me a cheaper course would be to volunteer at a soup kitchen. Sure, the guy was a little obsessed. Cecil Adams can deliver the Straight Dope on any topic.