The popularity of penile prostheses in the treatment of erectile dysfunction is decreasing. As per statistics, the use of this treatment has declined by as much as half within ten years from 2001 to 2010. However, the prostheses continue to be a viable treatment option. The use of these devices has increased among patients who have comorbidities in the same period of time.
Penile prostheses or implants are the most common type of surgical treatment available for erectile dysfunction especially among patients who have not found relief with medications.
The Statistics
The researchers studied men who had been diagnosed with erectile dysfunction. They started with the year 2001 as there reference year and continued till 2010. A total of 88,163 men were studied. Out of them, 2,659 men had undergone surgery to get a penile implant. As per the research, the use of these prostheses decreased by a significant margin over the years.
In 2002, 4.6% of patients got a penile implant. In 2010, the numbers had decreased to 2010. On the other hand, the number of patients diagnosed with erectile dysfunction increased significantly by a margin of 165% over 10 years. During the same period, the number of men with comorbidity issues that got themselves a penile implant had increased to 22.5% from 11.8%.
Why Has the Popularity of Penile Implants Waned?
Penile prostheses were once the best option for getting rid of erectile dysfunction. However, thanks to medical advancements, the use of implants and surgical treatments has changed. Some of the medical advancements responsible include the following.
- Oral PDE-5 inhibitors;
- Intracavernosal injection therapy
Facts about Penile Prostheses
Penile prostheses are devices that are inserted into the penile region through surgery. As it is a surgical option, many doctors recommend people to opt for some other ED treatment before going for this implant.
Oral medications are often recommended as the first treatment for ED. These medicines can be bought from places like Canadian Health&Care Mall. When they do not work, doctors recommend other options like injections. Finally, after the other options have been exhausted, penile implants are recommended.
One of the benefits of penile prostheses is that they can work for nearly all patients suffering from erectile dysfunction. Other treatments such as pills and injections have limitations such as drug interactions and contraindications. Implants do not have such limitations. Therefore, people suffering from other medical conditions can go for these prostheses without worrying about the impact on their health as there is none.
The surgical techniques used for implanting these prostheses have improved greatly over the years. Many of these operations have now become outpatient procedures. In other words, the patient can leave the hospital hours after they have done the surgery.
The side effects of these implants are few as well. Most risks of these implants are common to all surgical options.
- Risks associated with anesthesia use;
- Bleeding;
- Infections
Types of Implants
There are two kinds of implants used as penile prostheses.
- Inflatable implants: They are the most common type of implants. As the name suggests, they can be inflated to achieve erections.
- Semi-rigid implants: These implants are always firm and can be bent into position when required for sex. They can be bent back when not required.
Oral PDE-5 Inhibitors
Most doctors recommend ED patients to use oral medications first as their treatment. The majority of these medications are PDE-5 inhibitors. They are so named because the drug inhibits the function of a substance called PDE-5 in the body. As a result, the blood vessels tend to dilate. This, in turn, allows the penis to receive more blood resulting in an erection.
However, due to their action, it is possible for these oral medications to interact with other medicines such as alpha-blockers and nitrates. Moreover, these oral medicines can affect other medical conditions and create additional problems for the patient. As a result, they are not suitable for everybody. In such situations, an alternative ED treatment will have to be chosen. The popular oral medications are given below.
- Viagra;
- Cialis;
- Levitra
These medicines also have a number of side effects which the patients should be aware of such as allergies and vision loss. For that reason, doctors must always be consulted before purchasing these medicines from Canadian Health&Care Mall.