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Safety and feasibility of percutaneous needle tunneling with platelet-rich plasma injections for Peyronie’s disease in the outpatient setting: a pilot study

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety and feasibility of the combined simultaneous percutaneous needle tunneling coupled with injection of platelet-rich plasma in the outpatient department for the treatment of Peyronie’s disease. This prospective, non-randomized, cohort and preliminary study included patients who underwent this procedure from November 2020 to July 2022. The main outcome was an improvement in penile curvature. Fifty-four patients were enrolled and underwent 6 sessions under local anesthesia followed by vacuum therapy for the treatment of Peyronie’s disease in our outpatient unit. The amendment of the curvature angle was significant with a median correction percentage of −44.40% interquartile range (−66.70 to (−39.70)), [p-value = 0.001, 95% CI (−29.76 to (−18.02)), paired Student’s t-test]. The median pre-treatment curvature angle was 45° (40–75), and the median post-treatment was 30° (20–40). The median score for pain during the procedure was 3 (0–4.25) according to a 10-point visual analogic scale. After two hours, 20.37% of patients still had pain but none required any pain medication. 50% of patients had a minor hematoma and 75.93% patients reported penile ecchymosis. A single patient reported an injection site skin infection. In our experience percutaneous needle tunneling with platelet-rich plasma injections for Peyronie’s disease in the outpatient setting is a safe, effective, and feasible treatment of penile deformity for PD.

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Fig. 1: Artwork that simplifies the process and production of Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP).
Fig. 2: Artwork of percutaneous needle tunneling technique.

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Data availability

The data that supports the findings of this study are not openly available due to reasons of sensitivity and are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Contributions

Research conception and design: AZ, MA, SL and SB. Data acquisition: AZ, MA, and SB. Statistical analysis: AZ, MA, SL and SB. Data analysis and interpretation: AZ, MA, SL and SB. Drafting of the manuscript: AZ, MA, SL and SB. Critical revision of the manuscript: MA and SB. Supervision: SB. Approval of the final manuscript: AZ, MA, SL and SB.

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Correspondence to Ahmed S. Zugail.

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They study was conducted after obtaining approval from the Ethics Committee of Turin Hospital (Approval number: CT2022-74). The study adhered to the Helsinki protocols, and patients provided written, informed consent.

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Zugail, A.S., Alshuaibi, M., Lombion, S. et al. Safety and feasibility of percutaneous needle tunneling with platelet-rich plasma injections for Peyronie’s disease in the outpatient setting: a pilot study. Int J Impot Res 36, 140–145 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-023-00744-y

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