Peyronie's disease plaque or scar

There is much confusion and lack of information concerning Peyronie’s disease, especially the elusive Peyronie's plaque or scar .

It is truly amazing that for a male health problem that according to some surveys affects up to nine percent of the adult population, practically no man ever hears about this problem until the day he is given the diagnosis of Peyronie's disease.  It is no wonder that no one has ever heard of a Peyronies plaque until he has one.  It is this shock – that a “mystery” condition that comes out of the blue, a condition for which there is no known cause and no known Peyronie's cure can suddenly wreck a man’s life – that contributes to the lack of information about Peyronies.  While feeling totally confused and shocked upon first hearing about the Peyronie’s plaque or scar that accompanies it, prevents a man from asking all the standard questions and retaining the information he is told when he receives this diagnosis.

With such bad news pouring into his ears, and so many questions rolling around in this brain, it is no wonder that a man can leave his doctors office and not remember much of what he is told  about Peyronies.

In addition to this shock of learning he has Peyronies, most medical doctors do not like to manage cases of Peyronie’s disease, and therefore do a bad job of it, further adding to the common situation in which a man will not understand the basics of this problem – like the Peyronies plaque.

We all know Peyronies disease is called the “doctor’s nightmare” because of the problems associated with dealing with men who have this problem.  With no known cause or cure, the doctor comes off looking like a dummy for not having more clear information or help for his newly diagnosed Peyronies patient.  Adding to the negative atmosphere for the doctor in dealing with a Peyronies patient, the doctor also knows there will be hard feelings that will arise later when the PD patient develops additional penile curvature, reduced sexual performance, and frequent marital problems.  All of this happens while the doctor can only stand by as his Peyronies patient deteriorates over time. The doctor is often held responsible for these problems since he did not offer any help to his patient.  None of this is fair, but this is how it happens.   For these reasons many doctors try to get a man out of the office as quickly as possible, and often without sufficient time to ask questions or adequate explanations to prepare a man for the future.

In this atmosphere of minimum time and minimum information, the shocked Peyronies patient does not understand or recall basic facts about Peyronie’s disease.  For example, the fundamental problem of PD pivots around the presence of one or more masses of fibrous material located within the covering of the substance of the penile shaft, called a Peyronies plaque or scar. Many times a man who has had PD for many years will no absolutely nothing about his  Peyronie's plaque.

Peyronies Plaque is elusive

Another common situation exists in which the doctor cannot find a Peyronie's plaque, and neither can the man who owns it.  Each week I receive several emails asking me, “Since my doctor examined me and could not find anything, and I cannot see a scar, do you think I really have Peyronie’s disease?”

The fat is, there is never an EXTERNAL scar or plaque in Peyronie’s disease; it is always an internal mass that conveniently is known as a scar, but is not a scar in the usual sense.  PD “scars” or plaques are quite variable.  Some men have an obvious scar and others cannot find one if their life depended on it.   Ultimately, it is there and you should try as many different tactics as you can to find your scar(s) because having a good knowledge of your scar situation will help your treatment effort.  Hint:  Try to think in terms of your scar being much larger than you have previously imagined, so mentally expand the size of the scar that you are looking for.  Meaning, if you were looking for a “pea” before, start looking for a “postage stamp” or a “thumb nail” size structure.  This information should change your methods and what you can detect when trying to locate your Peyronies plaque.

A Peyronie’s plaque or scar can be quiet variable; some men have an obvious plaque and others cannot find one if their life depended on it.   Often, when a scar is not found, but there is still pain and bending or any kind of recent penile distortion, a diagnosis of PD is still made.  This is so, because it is the Peyronies plaque or scar that is causing the pain or bending is either:

1. So small – it cannot be found

2. So very soft – it blends into the other tissue and cannot be detected

3. So deep – it cannot be reached easily, especially during erection

4. So large and flat – that the edges are not determined, almost like something that is so close to you that you do not see it because you are looking far away

5.  The doctor’s lack of ability, experience or concern when he does the examination – that he simply misses what is actually there if he was better at this kind of thing – yes, I know, it is difficult to imagine but it is true.

Usually, when a scar is NEVER found it is because of a combination of two or more of these factors – deep and small, or soft, large and flat, or deep, soft and doctor error, and so on.

I often suggest that men try this:  forget about finding a “scar.”  Just try to find something – anything – within the mass of erectile tissue that does not feel like the other tissue pf the shaft.  Find something that is unlike the rest of the tissue.  When you find it, mark its location with a marker pen of something that will stay on the tissue for a day or two.  Go back each day to that area and re-think what you are feeling.  You are trying to determine if it becomes easier to make sense of it.  It could be that you have an unreasonable expectation of what a “scar” should feel like, and you are missing what is really rather obvious.  Really, how could you know what a Peyronie's plaque feels like if you have never had to do this before?  It is a common problem.

Let me know your experiences and problems in locating your Peyronie’s plaque. Take this chance to tell others your experiences and problems with this elusive tissue.