Penile implants (also called penile prostheses) are devices that are placed completely inside your body. They produce a stiff penis that lets you have normal sex. Penile implants are a good treatment choice for some men. There are two types of penile implants.
Bendable Implant
The simplest kind of implant consists of 2 easy-to-bend rods that are most often made of silicone. These silicone rods give the man’s penis the firmness needed to have sex. The implant can be bent downward for peeing or upward for sex.
Inflatable Implant
With an inflatable implant, fluid-filled cylinders are placed lengthwise in the penis. Tubing connects these rods to a pump that is placed inside the scrotum (the sac that holds the testicles). When the pump pushes fluid into the cylinders, they make the penis hard. Inflatable implants are the most natural feeling of the penile implants, as they let you control firmness and size.
In the simplest inflatable implants, the pump moves a small amount of fluid into the cylinders for erection then out again when erection is no longer needed. These devices are often called 2-part (or 2-component) penile implants. One part is the paired cylinders and the second part is the scrotal pump.
A 3-part inflatable penile implant has paired cylinders, a scrotal pump, and a fluid reservoir in the belly. With these three-part devices, a larger volume of fluid is pumped into the cylinders for erection and out of the cylinders when erection is no longer needed.
What is the Surgery Like?
Penile implants are usually placed under anesthesia, during a 1-hour surgery. Usually 1 small surgical cut is made either above the penis where it joins the abdomen or under the penis where it joins the scrotum. No tissue is removed, blood loss is small and blood transfusion is almost never needed. A patient will usually spend 1 night in the hospital for observation.
Most men have pain after the surgery for about 4 weeks. During this time, oral pain medicine is needed and you are not allowed to drive. If men limit their physical activity while pain is present, the pain usually ends sooner. Men can often be taught how to use the prosthesis for sex 1 month after surgery, but if there is still pain and soreness this may be delayed for another month.
If there is an infection, or the implant fails to work, it will usually have to be removed. On rare occasions, the device can cause pain or reduced feeling. It is important to know that after an implant is placed, other non-surgical treatments will no longer work if that prosthesis is removed. Fortunately, most men with penile implants and their partners say that they’re satisfied with the results.
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