Peyronie’s Disease
Overview
What is Peyronie’s Disease?
Peyronie’s disease is a non-cancerous condition that causes a curved penis and painful eretions. It’s a complex condtion caused by fibrous scare tissue that develops on the penis. You may have a higher risk for Peyronie’s if a family member has the disease, you have a connective tissue disorder and how old your are since the disease increases with age. Certain health conditions, smoking and some type of prostate surgery may be linked to Peyronie’s. There is no cure but it’s treatable and may go away on its own.
If your sex life is good and your symptoms are not severe, your Saint John’s Physician Partners doctor may prefer “watchful waiting.” For many men, Peyronie’s may cause stress and anxiety; early treatment may keep it from getting worse and even improve symptoms such as pain, curvature and penile shortening.
Treatment options may vary depending how long you’ve had the disease, how severe the deformity is, how good your erections and sexual function are and how bothered you may be by it. Other complications of Peyronie’s may include the inability to have sexual intercourse , difficulty fathering a child or stress on your relationship with your sexual partner. It’s important to talk with your doctor about your concerns and symptoms as there are several treatment options, including medicine, injections and surgery.
Symptoms
Peyronie’s Disease Symptoms
Peyronie’s disease may appear suddenly or develop gradually with the most common symptoms including:
- Scar tissue, called plaque, can build up in blood vessels and can be felt as flat lumps or a band of hard tissue under the skin of the penis.
- You might experience penile pain with or without an erection. Pain during erection usually improves within one or two years.
- You may experience a significant bend to your penis and your penis might curve upward or downward or bend to one side. This can also cause pain and the inability to have and maintain an erection.
- Your penis might become shorter due to Peyronie’s disease.Erection problems such as the inability to have and maintain an erection.
- In some men the erect penis can have a narrowing indentations with a tight, narrow band around the shaft giving your penis an hourglass-like appearance.
- Priaprism is an unwanted penile erection that persists. If the priaprism goes on for more than 30 minutes, especially if accompanied with pain, you should see your doctor immediately.
Specialists
