A hospital in Wales has pioneered a potentially transformative piece of surgery to resolve erectile dysfunction. The surgery involves inserting a stent into the penile artery, much the same way as surgeons now do to resolve coronary artery blockages.
This type of surgery will always be the last resort for most erectile dysfunction patients as there are medications that normally resolve the issue but around 25 -30% of patients do not respond to drugs like Viagra so an alternative is necessary for the rehabilitation of their sex lives.
One little known but important fact about erectile dysfunction is that it can be a marker for cardiovascular disease. The penile artery is only 1 -2 mm thick as opposed to the coronary artery, which is around 4 mm thick. Vascular disease affects the whole body so it is likely that the penile artery will block before the coronary artery so erectile dysfunction will normally be an early warning signal and it needs to be checked out. We always make this point when prescribing medications for erectile dysfunction and it is essential that a patient’s GP is kept informed so that tests can be carried out and medications prescribed to prevent cardiovascular events.
The pioneering new procedure may become in demand on the NHS but was cannot see many hospitals giving it priority when there are some many other demands on the resources of our publicly funded health service.