Erectile dysfunction
Commonly known as ‘impotence’, erectile dysfunction (ED) is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection that is adequate for sexual intercourse. It can affect one in ten men and more than 50% of men over 40 will experience some form of ED. Having erection trouble from time to time is not necessarily a cause for concern. However, on-going difficulty with erections may cause stress, affect your self-confidence and contribute to relationship problems.
Causes of ED can be physical or psychological in nature and your consultant will carry out a through examination and investigations to help determine the cause of the problem.
There are a range of treatment options for ED and these may include:
- Lifestyle advice.
- Psychosexual counselling.
- Testosterone replacement therapy.
- PDE5 inhibitors – these tablets are a very effective form of treatment and can work in up to 80% of patients. They work by temporarily increasing the blood supply to the penis. Examples include Sildenafil (Viagra), Vardenafil (Levitra) and Tadalafil (Cialis). Patients who take nitrate based medications for heart problems cannot use these medications.
- Pellets into the urethra – This Intraurethral pellet formulation (MUSE) is where a small pellet is inserted into the urethra at the tip of the penis. This causes the blood vessels to relax and increase flow.
- Injections into the penis – Intracavernosal injection therapy (Caverject, Viridal) is where the patient self-injects medication into the side of the penis. This causes the blood vessels to relax and increase flow. You will be taught how to administer the injections and what to do in the event when an erection will not go down.
- Vacuum device – a cylinder is placed over the penis and a vacuum is created with a pump. This creates an erection by drawing blood into the penis. This expands the spongy tissue which fills with blood, resulting in an erection. Once the penis is engorged with blood, a constriction ring is placed around the base of the erection. The constriction ring ensures that the blood remains in the penis to maintain a firm erection, until the ring is removed.
- Penile implant – Indicated for a very small number of patients where all other treatment strategies have failed. A penile implant is inserted into the penis under general anaesthetic. Your consultant will be able to discuss this in further detail with you.
For more information and to book a consultation please contact us.