Page 290 - Urological Health

• Penile injections
This is a self-administered therapy. About 10 to 30 minutes before sexual intercourse,
you use a fine needle to inject medications into the side of the penis. The medication
injected can be a single preparation or a concoction of up to 3 different types (alprostadil,
phentolamine and papaverine). The erection typically subsides after about 1 hour after the
injection. The pain from the fine needle injection is usually tolerable. You may experience
side effects, such as bleeding at the injection site or scarring of the penis after long-term
use. Caverject is one form of penile injection available.

Non-medical therapy:
• Vacuum erection device
This is a penis pump that is
made up of a hollow tube with
an attached pump on one end,
which can be hand or battery-
operated. You load a constrictive
rubber band on the free end of
the tube before cupping it over Elastic ring
his penis. When the pump is
activated, a vacuum is created
within the tube which will draw
blood into the penis, giving rise Pump
to an erection. With the tube
still in place, you slip the
constrictive rubber band onto
the base of the penis, so as to
keep the blood in the penis
before removing the pump. Pump
After intercourse, you remove
the constrictive rubber band
and the penis will become
flaccid again. To use this
method, you need good hand Figure 1. Vacuum device & implants
dexterity or a supportive
partner.

• Penile implant
This is usually the last resort. There are 2 main type prostheses: inflatable and non-
inflatable prostheses.

The inflatable prostheses usually consist of 2 balloon-like cylinders which are connected to
a reservoir. After the cylinders have been inserted into the penis, you can pump them up to
get an erection and deflate them after use.

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