Peyronie’s surgery from correction to amputation
It is not uncommon for a man to learn that he has Peyronie’s disease and to have his doctor immediately recommend penis surgery to attempt to remove the Peyronie’s plaque or straightened his curved penis.
When faced with even a mild degree of penis curvature someone might think that penile surgery is the only treatment option. It seems to me from my perspective in talking to a dozen men each week about their history with Peyronie’s disease that many of them are given strong pressure to have surgery far too early in the process.
It seems they are not being told that many who undergo penis surgery end up with numerous side effects like pain, numbness or loss of all sensation of the penis, additional loss of length and girth greater than their PD gave to them, greater curvature than their PD gave to them, and total impotence or inability to develop an erection. I frequently communicate with men who have more pain, distortion and loss of sexual ability after penile surgery than before it.
In a desperate effort to satisfy their sexual partner, and under false expectation of how easy and safe the surgery will be, men sometimes make matters worse with Peyronie’s disease surgery. Worse yet, it often happens that a man will have a second Peyronie’s surgery to correct the errors and problems created by the first Peyronie’s surgery – only to have even greater problems after the second surgical attempt.
For information about the Leriche surgery technique for Peyronie’s disease.
Peyronie’s surgery to the extreme
The worse case of failed Peyronie’s disease surgery I ever spoke to occurred sometime in 2006. I received a phone call from a man who asked if I guaranteed the treatment we present in the PDI website. I told him that no medical procedure or therapy is ever guaranteed – even aspirin. I said there is no such thing as a medical guarantee provided anywhere in the world because of the complexity of human physiology. I asked him why he was interested in a guarantee. He said he was desperate for something to help his terribly curved penis that had gotten progressively worse after each of three separate penis surgeries. He said he was scheduled to have his fourth penis surgery in two weeks, but he would cancel that surgery if I could give him a guarantee that the PDI process would correct his problem. I told him I was sorry that I could not make such a guarantee, and said I doubted his surgeon was going to guarantee the next operation. He corrected me. He told me that the next surgery was going to “fix’ his problem because the next operation was for the surgeon to amputate – completely cut off – his penis!
He went on to explain that his penis was now just a tiny two inch mass of twisted scar tissue; he had no feeling in his penis; for the last two years when he urinated he would get his abdomen wet; his wife was long gone and he felt that suicide was his only other option, so having his penis cut off made sense to him.
I was shocked. Just as I was starting to explain that I could not guarantee his results at this late stage in his problem I heard a click, and the phone was silent. The entire conversation took less than five minutes, but it was the most powerful discussion I have ever had with any of my Peyronie’s men. I will never forget the empty and desperate tone of his voice.
Penis surgery for a man who already has Peyronie’s disease presents a greater risk than for someone who does not have a Peyronies problem:
- High degree contracture due to fibrous tissue buildup, resulting in greater curvature than prior to surgery.
- Greater chance for numbness or total loss of sensation, or Peyronie’s pain,
- Greater chance for impotence.
Start with conservative Peyronie’s treatment, then penis surgery if necessary
I am not saying that a bad outcome will happen to all men who have Peyronie’s surgery, but it can and does happen so the possibility should be clearly kept in mind before rushing into surgery. Every day I hear from men who tell me their doctor on the first visit suggested penis surgery to “correct” their Peyronie’s disease.
It is my opinion that it is safer and wiser to take a more conservative route of care using the Alternative Medicine form of natural Peyronie’s treatment options that have been presented here since 2002, before considering surgery.
