Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

IJIR publishes special/guest-edited issues and topical collections. The peer review process for articles included in topical collections/special issues is the same as the peer review process of the journal in general. Additionally, if the Guest Editors author an article in their topical collection/special issue, they will not handle the peer review process.​

Penile implants have had a prominent place in the management of erectile dysfunction for the past 50 years

International Journal of Impotence Research (2023)Cite this article

Subjects

Prior to the introduction of effective penile implants 50 years ago there was no treatment of organic erectile dysfunction (ED). Most patients with this disorder were thought to have a situational or psychologic basis for this malady, and were told that their days of penetrative sexual activity were over. Michael Small and Hernan Carrion placed the first silicone semirigid rod implant bearing their names in September 1972, and Brantley Scott placed the first inflatable penile implant in March of 1973. Nocturnal penile tumescence monitoring and other tests, which became popular in this era, revealed that most cases of ED had a physical basis with a deficiency of penile hemodynamics. Sales of both types of penile implants, hydraulic and semirigid rod, grew exponentially each year, The semirigid rods initially outsold the inflatables due to simplicity of insertion and cost, but the superior rigidity and flaccidity of the inflatables soon made them the favored device. Early repair rates of the implants, especially the inflatables were high, in the range of 50% at 5 years after insertion. Sales of penile implants plummeted abruptly in 1998 to about one third of the previous year’s numbers with the anticipation of Viagra’s introduction. Men believed that this wonder drug would solve their ED problems, but it became evident that this medication was only effective in about two thirds of cases. Patients with ED following radical prostatectomy and those with diabetes mellitus are particularly refractory to this medical therapy. Patients with a scarred penis and curved erections associated with Peyronie’s Disease are many times better suited for penile implant placement to remedy their ED. Patients who have failed medical therapy or in whom it is contraindicated or psychologically unattractive are also well served with penile implant placement.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    John J. Mulcahy

  2. University of Alabama Medical Center, Birmingham, AL, USA

    John J. Mulcahy

  3. University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, USA

    John J. Mulcahy

Authors
  1. John J. Mulcahy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

This is the sole work of JJM.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John J. Mulcahy.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mulcahy, J.J. Penile implants have had a prominent place in the management of erectile dysfunction for the past 50 years. Int J Impot Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-023-00706-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-023-00706-4

Search

Advanced search

Quick links