¹Department of Urology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA

Correspondence: Dr WJG Hellstrom, MD, Professor of Urology, Department of Urology, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1430 Tulane Avenue SL42, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. E-mail: whellst@tulane.edu

Received 23 March 2002; Revised 12 July 2002; Accepted 15 August 2002.

Abstract

This study investigates whether a hydrophilic coating (Resist™), designed to inhibit bacterial adherence, applied to inflatable penile prostheses can prolong the effect of intraoperative antibiotics. The activity of antibiotic-soaked Bioflex^® (penile prosthetic substrate material) discs with and without Resist™ was examined by measuring the zone of inhibition following in vivo exposure in four groups of rabbits: 1, 2, 3 and 5 days' duration of disc implantation. Coated and uncoated discs were soaked in an aqueous solution of gentamicin and bacitracin. The implanted antibiotic-soaked discs were extracted, and the zone of inhibition against four microorganisms in vitro demonstrated that the Resist™ coating was especially effective against Staphylococcus epidermidis, and statistically significant improvements were observed for the coated over the uncoated substrate up to 3 days following implantation. This effect, and the anti-adherence properties of Resist™, may prevent adhesion and colonization of some microorganisms to penile implants and reduce chances for infection.