Alternative approaches to the management of priapism

Abstract

Herein we describe the use of intracavernous methylene blue (MB), a guanylate cyclase inhibitor, or internal pudendal artery embolization for the treatment of priapism. Eleven patients with priapism were treated from 1993–1996. Etiologies of priapism included PGE/papaverine (3), trazodone (2), and sickle cell disease (1), in the other five cases the cause was unknown. The average duration of priapism was 27 h for all patients (6–72 h). Five patients who failed intracavernous MB or an α-adrenergic agonist, underwent unilateral or bilateral pudendal artery embolization. The average duration of priapism for patients undergoing embolization was 43 h.

Sixty-seven percent of the patients treated with MB responded with immediate detumescence. One-hundred percent of patients with priapism secondary to intracavernous injection therapy or trazodone responded. Of the five patients who underwent embolization, 40% achieved immediate pain relief and subsequent detumescence. The three non-responders exhibited a partial detumescence over 47–72 h. After follow-up of one year embolization available for only two patients revealed that one regained potency while the other remained impotent.

These results confirmed that MB is effective for pharmacologically-induced priapism. Embolization is a less invasive option for refractory priapism, although results are less than satisfactory in men with priapism of several days duration.