What Else Do I Need to Know?

When medications are not successful at not getting good erections, your urologist will talk to you about other treatment options including a surgical procedure called the inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP). The IPP is the most spontaneous of all erectile dysfunction treatments, as a man can have an erection in a few seconds and does not need to take any medications or use external devices. The concept behind the IPP is to place two hydraulic cylinders in the penis that mimic the natural erection in order to have good sex. Every penis has two natural tubes that run up each side of the penis and fill up with blood when a man is sexually excited and these tubes are called the corporal bodies. When a man has erectile dysfunction, the corporal bodies will not have enough blood in them to stay hard for sex. To solve the hardness problem, a urologist will place two tubes in each corporal body that can fill up and get hard by squeezing a pump that is implanted in the scrotum. All it takes to get the penis hard is to squeeze the pump a few times and then once a man is done with sex there is an easy to feel button on the pump to make the penis go soft. The hydraulic fluid is sterile saline, and the IPP is filled with saline at the time of the surgery. In some cases, an IPP can make the penis a little bit longer and a little bit wider.

All IPP’s have two cylinders and a pump, and some way to shift the hydraulic fluid around the prosthesis depending on being hard or soft. A common type of IPP is called the 3 piece, as a pump is implanted in the scrotum, and a reservoir for the hydraulic system is placed deep in the groin area to the side of your bladder. A 2 piece IPP does not have a reservoir, and uses the penile cylinders to store the hydraulic fluid. Your urologist will talk to you about which IPP device would be best for your needs and anatomy at the time of surgical planning.