The treatment of loss of penile rigidity associated with Peyronie's disease

Patients with Peyronie's Disease on occasion present with loss of rigid erections. A full evaluation is required to determine the presence or absence of arterial insufficiency or corporal veno-occlusive dysfunction. Treatment for these patients include intracavernosal pharmacotherapy, a vacuum/constrictor device, venous ligation surgery or a penile prosthesis. Whatever the therapeutic approach, the angulation produced by the Peyronie's plaque must be taken into account. Patients with Peyronie's Disease will present to their physicians with a variety of clinical scenarios. They may merely be concerned with the presence of an asymptomatic penile plaque and will simply require reassurance. More typically, however, penile curvature, pain, and/or difficulty with sexual relations will prompt the desire for medical advice. Treatment of penile pain which usually abates with time and attempts at non surgically treating the Peyronies plaque will not be discussed in this paper. Patients with penile plaque and curvature present in three distinct ways: a. penile rigidity preserved and the ability to continue sexual relations; b, penile rigidity preserved and the inability to continue with sexual relations because of significant angulation; c. the inability to have rigid erections. The patient who is able to continue sexual relations with preserved penile rigidity and the lack of significant penile angulation requires no treatment. However, the patient who has lost his ability to have sexual relations because of significant angulation is a candidate for penile straightening surgery (e.g. graft) (1, 11). It is the last group of patients. Namely those who are not able to maintain penile rigidity because of their Peyronie's Disease that will be addressed in this paper. Patients who present with impotence (i.e. loss of penile rigidity) and Peyronie's disease should be evaluated in a similar manner as patients who present with erectile dysfunction and do not have Peyronie's Disease. The standard approach would therefore include a detailed medical and sexual history, a measurement of penile arterial pressure or flow to determine adequate arterial inflow (5,8), a measurement of penile sensation (10) to determine if an underlying neurological problem is present and lastly an evaluation of the veno-occlusive mechanism (12,17). In addition, the presence of penile curvature and plaque may cause significant and disturbing psychological manifestations and it is advisable that these patients undergo a psychological interview to determine the presence or absence of psychiatric influences. Obviously, many older patients with Peyronie's Disease may suffer concomitant arterial insufficiency leading to loss of rigidity and impotence. An evaluation of arterial input into the penis by penile Doppler studies, duplex ultrasound, or cavernosal occlusion pressures is required to determine the presence of arterial insufficiency. Patients who are found to have significant decreases in arterial flow and/or pressure would therefore become candidates for either self-injection with vasoactive agents or a vacuum constrictor device. It is our feeling in general that these nonsurgical therapies should be tried prior to considering the implantation of a penile prosthesis in any patient who presents with erectile dysfunction. It should be noted, however, that many patients with Peyronie's Disease who present with loss of penile rigidity will have an underlying veno-occlusive dysfunction secondary to the plaque itself. Normally, venules draining the corpora are passively compressed between the expanding corporal tissue and the tunica albugince (6). When a Peyronie's plaque is present compliance of the underlying corporal smooth musculature may be decreased thus preventing venous compression. In a recent evaluation of 92 patients who presented in this manner 87% were noted to have veno-occlusive dysfunction as determined by dynamic cavernosometry and cavernosography (3)...