In patients suffering from organic erectile dysfunction that proves resistant to medical treatment, penile implant is a reliable, efficient, and long-lasting third-line treatment option. Postoperative complications are well-codified and rather limited, if the intervention is performed by surgeons with implants expertise. In Belgium, the number of implantations is proportionally five times lower than in the USA, which can be accounted for by various factors including a lack of promotion and information of therapists, limited number of experimented "implanters", and lack of knowledge by patients who could benefit from the procedure. The overall management of this common sexual disorder using a penile implant is associated with high satisfaction rates for both the patients and their partners.
To have a fulfilled sexual life is a universal right. The means for correcting erectile dysfunction are taught in faculties of medicine and regularly proposed to patients. Yet, the penile implant remains a marginal and ignorate option, for being poorly known, anecdotal, and mistakenly rejected as an effective way to help patients solve their problems.
Penile implant placement, which is a highly codified and simple surgical procedure when performed by experts in the field, provides excellent results in terms of sustained satisfaction of both patients and their partners, if correctly managed. Complications are rare. This therapeutic option for managing erectile dysfunction proves very effective in carefully-selected and fully-informed patients.
Keywords
Erectile dysfunction, surgical treatment, penile prosthesis, surgical technique