70 percent of the men will answer this question – “Yes, it is normal to have a curved penis. My penis curve left or right when it is erect”. But, my friend, here, the word, “slightly” is the highlight of entire situation.
Many men after during their 40s experience a significant bent in their penis which causes immense pain and difficulty while having sex. If you are one of those, it is not a normal situation for you anymore. This condition can be the primary symptoms of Peyronie’s disease.
What is Peyronie’s disease?
It is a non-cancerous condition arising from fibrous scar tissue developed on the penis. We all know that Penis vary in shape and sizes, so having a curved erection is not always a problem until it causes extreme pain and discomfort. Does this condition gets worsen with time? From pain and difficulty in sex to stress and anxiety, Peyronie can be a hazardous for health. Early treatment and consultation at Proud Urology can help you improve and avoid the bothersome side-effects.
But, the question is, how to identify Peyronie’s at a primary stage? The symptoms of the condition explained below might help you.
SYMPTOMS OF PEYRONIE:
1. Difficulty is Erection – The condition of erectile dysfunction is proportionally related to Peyronie’s disease. It causes problems in getting or even maintaining an erection for longer time.
2. A bend in penis – You are most likely to experience a significant upward or downward bend in your penis. It gets aligned to one side- either right or left; both become difficult to manage.
3. Penis shortening – As a result of Peyronie’s disease, majority of men experience that their penis become shorter in size.
4. Excessive pain – Penile pain, with or without erection becomes unbearable to tolerate at times.
5. Penile deformity – When your penis is erect, you might observe a narrowing, indentation, and an hourglass kind of appearance accompanied by a tight and narrow band around the shaft.
6. Inability to have an exotic intercourse - In severe cases, a curved penis makes it difficult for men to enjoy a good sexual intercourse. Further, inability to keep the erection for longer time often becomes dissatisfactory for the couple.
Do any of the above-mentioned parameters haunt your body? If yes, we have got the solution for you at Proud Urology. Book a consultation with us and we will assist you with the best advice and treatment for your health.
How does Proud Urology Diagnose Peyronie’s disease?
In majority of the cases when men are considerate about person health at a primary stage, it becomes easier to diagnose the disease. A considerate physical examination is sufficient to look for the scar tissue present in the penis which gives a concrete report of your condition. Let us take you in depth understanding of how the diagnosis is carried out at our clinic.
- Physical Examination: We suggest you to take a prior appointment of our experienced and qualified medical experts. The doctor will palpate your penis when it is not erect and is in a relaxed state. This activity helps to identify the location and amount of scar tissue present in the penis. During every visit of examination, the penis length is also measured and recorded in the reports as it helps to further evaluate the difference in size if the condition worsens.
For full proof evaluation, our doctors suggest you to bring clicked images of your erected penis so that he can see the state of penis. This often helps to determine the degree of penis curvature, the location of scar tissue in penis, and few other details that are necessary for him to record for the medical purpose.
- Laboratory testing: In case of complicated or severe conditions, our experts suggest laboratory tests for concrete reports and evaluation of the condition. Generally, an ultra-sound of your erect penis is suggested to examine the condition. If the erection does not happen manually, we recommend an injection directly into the penis that makes it erect. In the ultrasound testing, sound waves are used to produce images of soft tissues in the body. When applied on penis for the examination of Peyronie’s, it displays the presence of scar tissue, blood flow in the penis, or any other abnormality if present.
TREATMENT
But what if you are tested positive for Peyronie’s disease? Is it a very serious issue? Is it an incurable disease? We are sure; you have many questions in your mind right now. Come, let’s find the answers together.
- Acute Phase: When a bleak penile pain, changes in curvature, or deformity of length is observed in penis, it is considered as the acute phase of peyronie’s disease. This phase is referred to as the early stage of the infection that is curable easily and lasts for a few weeks. For this phase, penile traction therapy is recommended that prevents the length loss of penis and also minimizes the extent of curvature. Medical therapies and usage of injections are minimally recommended at this stage because our experts suggest that this can be treated without the same. Surgery is generally recommended as the final step when the disease is stabilized.
- Chronic phase: In this phase, the symptoms are relatively stable. Men in this stage do not experience penile pain, deformity, or curvature changes. It happens in the stage when erection of penis becomes difficult and men are unable to have sex due to soft, weak, and bent penis. This stage generally occurs after 12 months when people are careless and ignorant towards their health. The following treatments are generally recommended alone or in combination depending upon the level of infection:
(A) Injections prescribed by the doctor
(B) Traction Therapy
(C) Surgery
Please note: Oral medicines are not much advised during the chronic phase as it is observed that it has more side-effects than cure. Let us further understand the therapy and treatments in detail.
- TRACTION THERAPY: The best and notable aspect of traction therapy is that it does not involve any sort of drugs or injection intake. It has no biological side-effect in men’s body. In penile traction therapy, penis is stretched with the help of a self-applied mechanical device for a prescribed period of time. This helps in improving the penile length, curvature, and deformity. Depending upon the type of the device and the acuteness of the infection, urologist may advise you to wear the device for as less as 30 minutes to as more as 8 hours in a day. There are different varieties of devices used for this therapy. Traction therapy is generally used in the early phase of the disease when the condition is relatively stable to be cured without the usage of drugs and medications. In chronic stage, Traction therapy is generally advised after the surgery or along with some medications for better results.
- Surgery: Experts at Proud Urology generally suggest surgery only when the deformity of penis is severe or is bothersome at the time of having sex. It is recommended only when the disease is not cured for a period of 12-14 months and the curvature also stops increasing. Some common surgical methods recommended are explained below:
- Plicating or Suturing the unaffected side of penis: In this type of surgery, the unaffected or longer side of the penis is sutured by stretching or operating the scar tissue. This surgery is generally advised to men who have less curvature but is immensely beneficial. During the procedure, various plication techniques are used depending upon the surgeon’s advice and experience.
- Incision – Excision – grafting: In this type of surgery, one or more cuts in the scar tissue are made which make the sheath to stretch out, thereby straightening the penis. If required, the surgeon also removes some scar tissues in penis. During the process, a piece of tissue is also sewn into the tunica to cover the holes if any. For this process, the graft of the tissue can be taken from the patient’s own body or any other animal body as well. With the agreement of patient, a synthetic material is also used with proper hygiene and cleanliness. This surgery is generally advised to men who have severe curvature and deformity in their penis. One must note that this procedure has a great risk of worsening the erectile function of the penis. So, one need to be very careful and considerate of all the factors.
- Penile Implants: In this type of surgery, penile implants are placed in the spongy tissue that is filled with blood when the penis is erect. These implants are semi-grid that can be bent down and upwards manually during the sexual intercourse.
Another implant in this surgery is inflated with a pump into the scrotum of men. Penile implants are generally advised to those patients who are dealing with both – Peyronie’s disease and erectile dysfunction. After placing the implants at the right place, the surgeon adjusts the curvature as per the requirement.
