Penile Implant Overview

A penile implant is a permanent solution that eliminates the need for pills or injections and waiting for your medication to kick in. It brings spontaneity back to intimacy, enabling men to be ready in seconds. Here are some important facts to help you learn more about penile implants.

What is a penile implant?

A penile implant is a medical device that helps a man get and keep an erection. The device Dr. Khourdaji uses with his patients is placed completely inside the penis and scrotum and does not change the appearance of the genitals. The device is not visible, even when the man is naked.

Because the implant is inflatable, a man can have an erection whenever he wants. This is a permanent solution for erectile dysfunction (ED) that eliminates the need to take ED medication.

How does the penile implant work?

There are three main parts that make up the penile implant. (See the illustration below.) These parts include a manual pump (3) that is placed in the scrotum, two inflatable cylinders (2) in the penis and a small container of fluid (1) behind the pubic bone. The pump transfers fluid from the container to the cylinders, creating an erection. When the user no longer wants the erection, he simply deflates the cylinders.

What can a penile implant do — and what can’t it do?

Because it stays permanently inside the body; the penile implant enables a man to get an immediate erection, which can improve intimacy with his partner and boost his own self-confidence. Studies have shown patient and partner satisfaction rates of 90 to 95 percent with this implant. The implant user is also able to experience orgasm and ejaculate semen (if his body can produce semen).

However, it is important to note that a penile implant does not increase the length of the penis. In fact, the erect penis with the implant will be approximately the same length as when it is soft and stretched to its full length.

What are the advantages of penile implant over other ED treatment options?

With a penile implant, a man is always ready for intimacy. Inflation takes just a few seconds, and he can create an erection at his own timing. While there are other options to treat ED, none are as fast, easy or immediately available as a penile implant.

Oral medication — Viagra, Cialis and other oral medications are popular treatments for erectile dysfunction. However, these pills typically require an hour to become effective, and they should be taken on an empty stomach. If a romantic evening starts with a meal, that means it may be two hours or longer before a man is ready for sexual intimacy — and by then, the moment may have passed.

Penile injection therapy — This option works faster than oral medication — in about 15 minutes. However, it requires the man to take time out to prepare the injection and then give himself the shot. Those are precious minutes that may end up ruining the mood of the moment.

Vacuum erection device — An external vacuum pump draws blood into the penis to make it erect, and a band or ring at the base of the penis helps to maintain the erection. While effective for short periods of time, the device may be a turnoff for a partner and can cause pain, bruising or burst blood vessels in the penis.

Who is a candidate for penile implant?

Most penile implant patients are between 50 and 80 years old, although younger and older men with erectile dysfunction may also benefit from an implant. Your urologist will help you make that determination. Before surgery is approved, each patient will be thoroughly evaluated for underlying health issues, such as an unresolved urinary tract or prostate condition or an active infection elsewhere in the body.

Learn about penile implant surgery and safety.