Surgery

Surgical treatments may involve:

• The placement of thin rods that keep the penis permanently erect, or
• An inflatable device that is filled with saline through an implanted pump to cause an erection when desired.

After the surgery is performed, these treatments have the advantage of being reliable and easier to use than other treatments. However, surgery is associated with the risk of infection, scarring, erosion of the device through tissue, and the need for reoperation. The inflatable device allows the penis to maintain a more natural appearance, but may sometimes fail and need surgical re-implantation.

Surgery of blood vessels is called vascular surgery. Vascular surgery  may be performed to treat diagnosed problems with blood vessels in the penis. Surgery may be performed on the veins to prevent leakage of blood out of erectile tissue. Another type of operation can be performed on the arteries to correct abnormalities caused by an earlier traumatic injury to the penis. Unfortunately, neither type of surgery is successful most of the time.