title: 500 penile prostheses implanted by a surgeon in Italy in the last 30 years.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of our study was to report our experience with patients affected by Erectile Dysfunction (ED) and undergoing penile prosthetic implantation (PPI) in a single center by a single surgeon.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively evaluated the clinical outcome of 500 patients (mean age: 51.5 years, range: 20-86 years) affected by ED and referred to our private andrological center from January 1984 to December 2013 who underwent penile prosthesis implantation, including the reported level of patient satisfaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  182 silicone, 180 malleable, 18 monocomponent hydraulic and 120 multicomponents hydraulic prostheses were implanted by the same experienced surgeon. All patients were hospitalized for the procedure. All patients were evaluated immediately, 1 month (496 patients) and, for the great majority, every year after implantation. One hundred twenty five patients were lost to follow-up. Twenty two patients underwent revision surgery for complications in the postoperative period. The most serious postoperative complications were mechanical problems (45 patients, 9.0%) and infection (15 patients, 3%). Forty two (8.4%) prostheses were explanted. Overall, 80% (400/500) of patients were able to have sexual intercourse and were fully satisfied with the results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our experience prosthetic surgery should be considered a good solution for men affected by ED and not responsive to other therapeutic solutions. Prosthetic surgery can be performed not only in large public hospitals but also in smaller private facilities.
authors.affiliation: Studio di Andrologia e di Chirurgia Andrologica, Rome. diegpo@tin.it.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pozza
authors.forename: Mariangela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pozza
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Musy
authors.forename: Carlotta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pozza
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000601:surgery*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019935:Penile Implantation / Q000379:methods; D015917:Penile Prosthesis; D010413:Penis / Q000601:surgery; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome