Erectile dysfunction, or as it is commonly known, difficulty in erecting the penis; It is defined as the inability to achieve the penile rigidity required for successful sexual intercourse or to maintain it even if achieved. The results of a scientific study conducted in 1995; It has been shown that approximately 153 million men around the world have erectile dysfunction during sexual intercourse, and this number will reach approximately 322 million in 2025. While in the 1950s and 1960s, it was thought that psychogenic causes were at the root of erectile dysfunction in men, today it has been proven that this problem occurs due to some diseases arising from the vascular and neural structures of the penis. In general, diseases that damage vascular and nerve structures such as arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure and diabetes, and less common diseases such as chronic kidney failure accompany erectile dysfunction in men.
For example, it is known that approximately half of diabetic patients have erectile dysfunction to varying degrees. Approximately 40-90% of patients who undergo surgical treatment for prostate cancer experience erectile dysfunction. On the other hand, a significant portion of patients think that erectile dysfunction is a natural and acceptable consequence of their disease, and do not request any treatment, assuming that treatment is impossible.
After the 1980s, after the factors that play a role in penis erection and the reasons that cause erectile dysfunction were revealed, today erectile dysfunction is no longer a nightmare for men and has become a disease that can be treated under all conditions. In a study conducted in our country, it is reported that the prevalence of erectile dysfunction in varying degrees in men over the age of 40 is approximately 52%. In other words, one in every two men faces erectile dysfunction due to aging.
First step in treatment; They are drugs that can be taken orally. Drugs injected into the penis are used as second-line treatment in patients where first-line treatment does not help. benefit can be provided.
The last step treatment option is the operation of placing penile prostheses, popularly known as 'Happiness Stick', into the penis. As can be understood, in this treatment, the patient needs to undergo an operation. These devices are placed inside the penis in an operation that takes about an hour. Once these devices are placed, they are not noticeable from the outside. These hydraulic devices allow the patient to harden his penis whenever he wants. However, before deciding on penile prosthesis surgery, it should be absolutely sure that the patients will not benefit from any drug treatment. On the other hand, the risk of infection from a foreign object placed in the body, even if it is unlikely, should be taken into consideration and such operations should be performed in health institutions where sterilization conditions can be ensured at the highest level.
In parallel with the developments in technology, significant improvements have been made in the technical features of penis prostheses. While penile prostheses were produced from hard rigid materials in the 1980s, inflatable prostheses are widely used today. Rigid prostheses are not suitable for penile physiology as they cause the patient's penis to remain constantly 'erect'. After this type of prosthesis surgery, when the penis is constantly 'erect', it is clearly noticeable under the patient's clothing and this causes an extremely uncomfortable social situation for the patient. More importantly, rigid materials can cause the penis tissue to erode over time, causing the prosthesis to come out of the penis after a certain period of time.
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