The Clinical Significance of Imperfection: Do Asymmetry or Occult Curvature Matter in Penile Prosthesis Placement?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Patient satisfaction after inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) placement has been linked to preexisting curvature. Intraoperative findings such as curvature on artificial erection (AE) or asymmetric corporal measurements (ACM) are incompletely characterized in terms of impact on IPP outcome. Objective We sought to evaluate the clinical utility of AE and the significance of ACM during IPP surgery. Methods A single institution retrospective review of patients undergoing primary IPP placement between 7/2019-9/2020 was performed. Patient characteristics and intraoperative measurements were compared. Threshold for statistical significance was p≤0.05. Results A total of 130 patients underwent primary placement of penile prosthesis. Median age was 67 years (IQR 13). Comorbidities included prostatectomy in 33.8%, and known Peyronie's disease in 21.5%. Of the 27.7% (n=36) of patients who underwent intraoperative AE, 63.9% (n=23) had visible curvature. Of the patients with visible curvature, 70% (n=16) had a preoperative diagnosis of Peyronie's disease and 56.3% (n=9) underwent straightening procedures compared to 28.6% (n=2) of the 30% (n=7) with no known curvature. Incision and grafting was most frequently performed (6/11)- with a minority undergoing plication (2/11). Of the 72.3% (n=94) who did not undergo AE, only 2.1% (n=2) required additional measures for curvature correction. Median corporal measurement was 21 (IQR 2) bilaterally and median cylinder size 20 cm (IQR 4) bilaterally with 1cm rear tip extenders. Of the 18.5% (24/130) of patients with ACM, asymmetry was as follows: 20.8% (5/24) had less than 1 cm, 70.8% (17/24) had 1 to <2 cm, and 8.3% (2/24) had 2 cm or greater. Of these patients 87.5% (21/24) underwent placement of an asymmetric device, only 5% (1/21) of which had residual curvature less than 30 degrees. Despite ACMs, 12.5% (3/24) of patients had a symmetric device placed, one of which had residual curvature. Only 2 patients underwent straightening procedures including plication and incision/grafting. Conclusions Intraoperative AE is effective at revealing occult penile curvature at time of IPP placement, however most men with newly detected curvature do not require additional straightening measures. We also found that 1 in 5 patients undergoing IPP had ACM but this did not correspond to residual curvature following IPP or requirement for adjunct straightening. These findings may provide reassurance to urologists who do not routinely perform AE or those who encounter ACM during corporal dilation Disclosure Any of the authors act as a consultant, employee or shareholder of an industry for: Boston Scientific, Coloplast