Premium
Extracorporeal shock wave therapy in the management of Peyronie's disease: initial experience
Author(s) -
Husain J.,
Lynn N.N.K.,
Jones D.K.,
Collins G.N.,
O'reilly P.H.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
bju international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1464-410X
pISSN - 1464-4096
DOI - 10.1046/j.1464-410x.2000.00827.x
Subject(s) - extracorporeal shock wave therapy , medicine , peyronie's disease , visual analogue scale , extracorporeal shockwave therapy , surgery , extracorporeal , erectile dysfunction
Objective To evaluate prospectively the efficacy of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) as a conservative treatment for Peyronie's disease. Patients and methods After obtaining ethical committee approval, 37 patients with Peyronie's disease were treated using ESWT. Before treatment the degree of angulation was assessed by artificially inducing an erection with a vacuum device. The severity of pain on erection was assessed using a visual analogue scale (0–5). Each patient was treated with a minimum of three sessions of ESWT (3000 shock waves at an energy density of 0.11–0.17 mJ/mm 2 ) at 3‐week intervals. The results were analysed using the Wilcoxon signed‐rank test. Results Of the 37 patients, 34 completed the protocol; the mean (range) duration of the disease was 19.43 (4–60) months and the mean follow‐up 7.5 (5–11) months. Almost half (47%) of the patients reported an improvement in angulation, with a mean reduction of 29.3° (10°−60°) ( P < 0.001); 12 of the 20 (60%) patients with pain on erection reported immediate relief, the mean reduction being 2.3 (1–4) on the visual analogue scale ( P < 0.001). There was only minimal bruising at the site of treatment and no major side‐effects were reported. Conclusion ESWT is an effective and safe treatment for Peyronie's disease; the long‐term follow‐up and results are awaited.