Viagra and other drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) don’t work for every man, but penis implant may help some men who don’t respond to drugs. ED is a physical and mental problem that shows up when a man can’t keep an erection going long enough to have a sexual encounter. A penile implant can help men get and keep an erection. But they don’t make you feel or want to be sexual more or make your penis longer or bigger.
What are penile implants?
Men with erectile dysfunction (ED) can get an erection with the help of penile implants. These are devices that are put inside the penis. When other treatments for ED don’t work, penile implants are often the next step.
Most penile implants are either semi-rigid or inflatable. Each kind of penile implant has a different way of working and different pros and cons.
Surgery is needed to put in penile implants. Before you decide to get penile implants, make sure you know what surgery entails, including any risks, complications, and aftercare.
Penis implantation procedure
Penis implantation surgery can be done outside of a hospital and takes up to 90 minutes. Some men may need to stay in the hospital overnight.
During the surgery, which is done under general or spinal anesthesia, a catheter is usually put through the urethra into the man’s bladder to drain urine. Most of the time, the catheter is taken out 24 hours after surgery.
The penile implant surgeon starts the surgery by making a cut below the penis head, at the penis base, or in the lower abdomen. The starting point depends on what kind of penile implant is chosen and what the surgeon wants.
Next, the surgeon opens up the tissue-filled chambers inside the penis, called the corpora cavernosa. The surgical site is then cleaned with antibiotic fluid to prevent infection, and the cylinders or semi-rigid rods are put inside the penis. If the implant is an inflatable penis, the surgeon puts a pump inside the scrotum and a fluid-filled reservoir in the scrotum or lower abdomen. The surgeon closes the cuts once the device is in place.
Who is a good candidate for a penile implant?
Most men who have trouble getting an erection can treat it successfully with pills or a penis pump (vacuum constriction device). If other treatments don’t work for you or you can’t get an erection strong enough for sexual activity, you might want to think about penile implants.
Peyronie’s disease is a condition that causes scarring inside the penis and painful, curved erections. In severe cases, penile implants can be used to treat this condition.
Implants in the penile area aren’t for everyone. Your doctor might tell you not to get penile implants if you have:
- An infection, like a lung infection or an infection in the urinary tract.
- Diabetes that isn’t well managed or heart disease that is serious.
Not all men can get surgery to put an implant in their penis. Some possible candidates are:
- Men who have trouble getting an erection and don’t respond to ED drugs, suppositories, vacuum devices, or injections.
- Men with Peyronie’s disease, a condition where the penis hurts and bends when they get an erection, if they also have a lot of ED.
Penile implant types
Inflatable implants and semi-rigid rods are the two types of penile implants most commonly used:
Implants that inflate:
The most typical type of penile implant utilized in the US is an inflatable one. While some inflatable implants only have two components, some have three. Two cylinders are put into the penis and connected to a pump in the scrotum in the two-piece model. This system has a tiny reservoir that is filled with fluid. The three-piece device, like the two-piece type, has a bigger fluid-filled reservoir and two cylinders that are put into the penis. The three-piece model’s reservoir is implanted beneath the abdominal wall rather than in the scrotum, which distinguishes it from the other types.
Both inflatable types function in a comparable way. Before sexual activity, the male squeezes the pump to force a saline solution from the reservoir into the cylinders, which results in an erection. He deflates the cylinders after sexual contact. Generally speaking, the three-piece penis implant results in stronger erections than the two-piece device.
The advantages of inflatable penile implant:
- the capacity to spontaneously expand and deflate
- decreased danger of internal pressure injury to the penis that might result from continual pressure
Penis Implants using a Semi-Rigid Rod:
These penile implants are flexible rods inserted into the penis’ erection chambers. They may be bent into either an upright or a non-appointing posture. Because these body implants are continually hard, the inside of the penis is constantly under pressure.
The advantages of Semi-rigid rod Penile implant:
- more affordable than inflated Penile Implant
- Surgery without inflated penis implant is less complicated.
- fewer components than penile inflatable implant
Risks and complications of penile implant
Some of the risks and complications of penile implant surgery are:
- Infection:
As with any surgery, it is possible to get an infection. If you have diabetes or a spinal cord injury, you might be more likely to get sick.
- Implant problems.
The new designs for penile implants are safe, but sometimes they don’t work. A broken implant needs surgery to fix or replace it, but if you don’t want another surgery, you can leave a broken device in place.
- Internal wear or stickiness.
In some cases, an implant might stick to the skin inside the penis or wear away the skin inside the penis. Implants only rarely break through the skin. Some of these problems are caused by an infection.
Penile implants surgery cost in Dubai
Penis implant surgery costs in Dubai include the fee for the surgeon, the fee for the anesthesia, the fee for the operating room, and the fee for the implant. Depending on the type of implant chosen, surgery to put an implant in the penis can cost up to 70,000 AED. Some insurers will cover the cost of surgery for a penile implant, but they may need to be pre-approved first. Before you agree to surgery, make sure to call your insurance company and find out what the policy says.
It is important for your penile implant surgery to be done by a skilled and experienced surgeon. Urologists and plastic surgeons who are certified by their boards have the most experience with penile implant surgery.