Mayo Clinic: Men’s Health Center

Overview

Surgery

You might choose a surgical procedure to treat Peyronie's disease if the deformity of your penis is severe, sufficiently bothersome or prevents you from having sex. The type of surgery that is right for you depends on the severity of your curvature and how strong your erections are. It is important to choose a surgeon who is highly experienced in performing surgery for Peyronie's Disease to ensure the best outcomes

Surgical methods include:

Suturing (plicating) the unaffected side. A variety of procedures can be used to suture (plicate) the longer side of the penis — the side without scar tissue. This results in a straightening of the penis, although this is often limited to less severe curvatures. Several plication techniques may be used, generally resulting in similar success rates depending on surgeon experience and preference.

Incision or excision and grafting. With this type of surgery, the surgeon makes one or more cuts in the scar tissue, allowing the sheath to stretch out and the penis to straighten. The surgeon might remove some of the scar tissue. A piece of tissue (graft) is often sewn into place to cover the holes left by the removal of the scar tissue. The graft might be tissue from your own body, human or animal tissue, or a synthetic material. This procedure is generally used in men with more-severe curvature or deformity, such as indentations. This procedure is associated with greater risks of worsening erectile function when compared with the plication procedures.

Penile implants. Surgically placed penile implants are inserted into the spongy tissue that fills with blood during an erection. The most common implant is known as an inflatable penile prosthesis, which is inflated with a pump implanted in the scrotum. Another type of implant is a semi-rigid penile prosthesis, which you manually bend down most of the time and then bend upward for sexual intercourse. Additional maneuvers may be performed at the time of placing the prosthesis to further straighten the penis. These include placement of plication sutures or incision of the scar tissue with grafting.

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