Voiding function improves under long-term testosterone treatment (TTh) in hypogonadal men, independent of prostate size

Background Functional hypogonadism is a condition in which some, but not all, older men have low testosterone levels. Rather than chronological age per se, the causality of hypogonadism includes obesity and impaired general health (e.g., metabolic syndrome). An association between testosterone deficiency and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) has been reported, yet due to prostate safety concerns, men with severe LUTS (IPSS score > 19) have invariably been excluded from entering testosterone trials. Irrespective, exogenous testosterone has not been demonstrated to cause de novo or worsen mild to moderate LUTS. Objective This study investigated whether long-term testosterone therapy (TTh) could have a protective effect on improving the symptoms of LUTS in hypogonadal men. However, the exact mechanism by which testosterone exerts is beneficial effect remains uncertain. Patients and methods In this study 321 hypogonadal patients with an average age of 58.9 ± 9.52 years received testosterone undecanoate in 12-week intervals for 12 years. One hundred and forty-seven of these males had the testosterone treatment interrupted for a mean of 16.9 months before it was resumed. Total testosterone, International Prostate Symptom Scale (IPSS), post-voiding residual bladder volume and aging male symptoms (AMS) were measured over the study period. Results Prior to TTh interruption, it was observed that testosterone stimulation improved the men’s IPSS, AMS and post-voiding residual bladder volume, while their prostate volume significantly increased. During the TTh interruption, there was a significant worsening in these parameters, although the increase in prostate volume continued. When TTh was resumed, these effects were reversed, implying that hypogonadism may require lifelong treatment

Extracorporeal transient distal penile corporoglanular shunt in early ischemic priapism treatment

Purpose Ischemic priapism, which is a compartment syndrome, needs urgent treatment in order to nourish corpora cavernosa. As the first step, the aspiration of blood and/or the irrigation of the cavernosal bodies are performed to prevent fibrotic activity and secure erectile capability. While performing aspiration and irrigation, there are some risks of the procedure in which most refrained one is cardiovascular side effects of adrenergic agonists. We aimed to evaluate extracorporeal transient distal penile corporoglanular shunt technique in place of aspiration/ irrigation techniques for early ischemic priapism treatment. Materials and Methods In this transient shunt technique, a sterile closed system blood collection set (BD Vacutainer, Cat. No.: 367282; NJ, USA), which has two 21G needles, was used. The length of the needle and tubing was 19 mm. (0.75 inch) and 178 mm. (7 inches), respectively. This blood collection set was designed to be used not only for blood collection but can also be used for short term infusions (maximum 2 hours). Results Ten patients out of fifteen with early ischemic priapism were successfully treated with this transient shunt technique. The permanent detumescence achieved in the first 10 minutes in nine out of fifteen patients. No additional procedure needed after the disappearance of rigidity in successfully treated patients. The permanent detumescence achieved in the first 10 minutes in nine out of fifteen patients. Conclusions We demonstrated that this extracorporeal transient shunt technique gets some advantages over aspiration and irrigation in early ischemic priapism treatment. Our results indicate that the presented technique to be offered for the patients with an ischemic priapism episode of no more than 7 hours

Axial penile rigidity influences patient and partner satisfaction after penile prosthesis implantation

Introduction: Penile prosthesis implantation is one of the treatment choices that is kept for patients who were not satisfied with other treatments. Although penile prosthesis satisfaction rates are higher, there are some dissatisfied patients. The patients’ reasons are mostly shortness and softness of implanted prosthesis. It was previously demonstrated that penile axial rigidity of more than 500 grams is enough for successful vaginal intromission. To our knowledge, there is no study comparing axial rigidity of penile prosthesis and satisfaction. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine whether axial rigidity of penile prosthesis had impact on patient and partner satisfaction. Materials and Methods: We enrolled one hundred patients who were implanted penile prosthesis before to evaluate their penile axial rigidity. We used Rigidometry (by using the digital inflection rigidometer) to assess the minimal axial pressure to bend the implanted penis. Results: We demonstrated that mean axial pressure to bend the implanted penis was 984.8 ± 268.7 grams. Overall satisfaction score with the penile prosthesis implant was 4.55 and 4.49 (out of 5) in patients and partners, respectively. In total, seven men were unsatisfied with their implant and reported a mean satisfaction score of 0.6 ± 0.48 (out of 5). All prostheses types showed good and more than 500 grams axial rigidity. The patients with Ambicor type, which were buckled at about 710.5 grams, showed worse satisfaction rates in comparison to other prostheses in two patients. Digital inflection rigidometer results of other penile prosthesis types in unsatisfied patient were 842.0, 872.0, 887.0 and 920 g. in CX700, Titan, Genesis and Titan OTR, respectively. Conclusion: We demonstrated that dissatisfaction rate was highest in Ambicor prosthesis implanted patients. Additionally, patients with 3-piece penile prosthesis were more satisfied than 2-piece or malleable ones, interestingly, although some cases had lower axial rigidity results

The impact of sexual activity on serum hormone levels after penile prosthesis implantation

Objectives: Penile prosthesis implantation is the final treatment option for patients who have erectile dysfunction. Most of the patients use their penile prosthesis successfully and frequently for penile-vaginal intercourse. Previous literature showed that decrease in sexual activity resulted in decreased serum testosterone levels and vice versa. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of sexual activity on serum sex hormone levels after penile prosthesis usage. Material and methods: In this study, we examined sixtyseven patients for their sex hormone changes who had penile prosthesis surgery 2.7 ± 1.5 years ago. Results: Patients were using their penile prosthesis for sexual activity with a mean of 9.9 ± 5.7 times per month. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate was significantly higher compared to pre-surgery results (5.3 ± 2.6 vs 4.5 ± 2.9; p = 0.031). Mean serum total testosterone levels of patients before and after penile prosthesis usage were clinically significant 15.78 ± 4.8 nmol/L and 16.5 ± 6.1 nmol/L, respectively. Mean serum luteinizing hormone levels of patients before and after penile prosthesis usage were 3.98 ± 2.16 IU/L and 5.47 ± 4.76 IU/L, respectively. No statistical significance difference was observed in the mean total and free testosterone, estradiol and luteinizing hormone levels between pre- and post-surgery. Conclusion: This study results demonstrated that sexual activity changed sex hormone levels positively among those men who were implanted penile prosthesis because of erectile dysfunction

Treatment of penile strangulation by the rotating saw and 4-needle aspiration method: Two case reports

Introduction: The aim of this article was to describe our experience in using rotating saw and also combination of the instrument with 4-needle aspiration. Methods: A comprehensive review of the literature was performed using PubMed. “Penile strangulation, -constriction, -incarceration, -entrapment” were used as search terms, and a manual bibliographic review of cross referenced items was performed. Results: Search results yielded nearly 70 cases of penile strangulation caused by a variety of objects. Various instruments have been described in the literature for their safe removal, each with its own pros and cons. Conclusions: Penile strangulation should be accepted as a self-induced priapism and managed as an emergency in order to preserve erectile function and to prevent penile necrosis. Surgical creativity and patience are necessary in order to have a successful outcome

Isolated pump erosion of an inflatable penile prosthesis through the scrotum in a diabetic patient

Isolated pump erosion is a rare complication in patients with inflatable penile prosthesis. We describe a case of a diabetic patient who underwent inflatable penile prosthesis implantation with subsequent isolated pump erosion. Repeated attempts of conservative repair of the erosion failed. Finally, the inflatable penile prosthesis was replaced with a malleable one to avoid new pump erosion. In case of isolated pump erosion, replacement of the inflatable penile prosthesis with a malleable one looks to be a good alternative salvage treatment for the patient

Synchronous placement of penile prosthesis and artificial urinary sphincter: a systematic review with cumulative analysis

Radical prostatectomy is a life saving treatment for localised prostate cancer but may come with debilitating consequences, such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Penile Prosthesis Implants (PPI) are the gold standard of treatment for patients with refractory Erectile Dysfunction (ED) resistant to conservative management. Likewise, an Artificial Urinary Sphincter (AUS) is gold standard for those with refractory severe urinary incontinence. This systematic review with cumulative analysis assesses the efficacy and complications rates for synchronous placement of PPI and AUS as a single-stage procedure. Systematic literature review was performed using the US National Library of Medicine’s life science database (MEDLINE) (2000 to May 2021), EMBASE (2000 to May 2021), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials-CENTRAL (in the Cochrane Library-2021), Google Scholar and Individual journals. 5 studies were included for analysis, with total of 112 patients. The overall revision/replacement rate was 12.5% (n = 14). The revision rate for PPI alone was 4.5% (n = 5), for AUS was 6.5% (n = 9). The overall removal rate was 5.4% (n = 6). Removal rate for PPI alone was 0.9% (n = 1), for AUS was 1.4% (n = 3). There were only 2 case of dual prosthesis removal (1.4%). Our cumulative analysis has revealed that revision and removal rates for synchronous dual implants may be lower than previously believed. However, our review has highlighted the low quality of available data and stresses that more robust studies are required to validate the high satisfaction and low complication rates reported by small studies

Erectile Dysfunction in Qatar: Prevalence and Risk Factors in 1,052 Participants—A Pilot Study

AbstractAimThe aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in Qatar and to determine the risk factors associated with it.Materials and MethodsThis is a cross‐sectional survey study of men attending the outpatient department at Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar between February 2012 and February 2013. The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF)‐5 questionnaire was used for data collection. In addition to the IIEF‐5 score, each participant's medical history was taken, with special emphasis on risk factors for ED, including diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), dyslipidemia, coronary artery disease (CAD), and smoking habits, and on their body mass index.ResultsOne thousand fifty‐two participants were randomly selected to fill out the IIEF‐5 questionnaire. The participants' mean age (±SD) was 41.87 ± 13.24 years. Analysis of replies to the IIEF‐5 showed that ED was present in 573 out of 1,052 participants (54.5%). Fifty‐six (5%) participants had severe ED, 61 (6%) had moderate ED, 173 (16%) had mild to moderate ED, and 283 (27%) had mild ED. Risk factors for ED that held statistical significance were age (odds ratio [OR] = 2.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.1–4.1, P < 0.001), DM (OR = 2.6, 95% CI 1.7–3.9, P < 0.001), HTN (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.5, P = 0.012), dyslipidemia (OR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.1–2.4, P = 0.024), and CAD (OR = 3.2, 95% CI 1.3–7.5, P = 0.009).ConclusionWe found that the prevalence rate of ED in Qatar is quite similar to the regional reported rates. Overall, we demonstrated that nearly more than half of our participants suffered from ED. Besides age, DM, HTN, CAD, and dyslipidemia were found to be the most important risk factors for ED. Al Naimi A, Majzoub AA, Talib RA, Canguven O, and Al Ansari A. Erectile dysfunction in Qatar: Prevalence and risk factors in 1,052 participants—A pilot study. Sex Med 2014;2:91–95