Attitudes of Diabetic Men After Implantation of a Semi-Rigid Penile Prosthesis

Erectile impotence is a common and distressing problem in diabetic men. In order to examine the impact of a penile prosthesis on the quality of life of the recipients, we mailed a questionnaire to all patients (N = 49) who received a semi-rigid (Small-Carrion) prosthesis at the Seattle VAMC from 1976 to 1981. Fourteen patients with diabetes and 23 without diabetes returned the questionnaire. Direct comparisons showed no statistically significant differences between the responses of the two groups. Based on a scale of 1–7 (1 = worst, 4 = no change, 7 = best), the general effect of the operation on the quality of life of the recipients was 5.7 ± 0.3 (X¯ ± SEM); the quality of intercourse was 5.1 ± 0.3; the patient's perception of his partner's response to the prosthesis was 5.2 ± 0.3; and the patient's perception of postoperative changes in his relationship with his partner was 5.6 ± 0.3. Eighty-three percent of the patients were satisfied with the performance of the prosthesis. Most of the patients (86%) felt that their preoperative expectations had been fulfilled and would elect to have the procedure if they had it to do over again. However, five patients (14%) stated that they would not elect the operation again because their partners did not appreciate the operation (N = 2); the operation produced severe, prolonged pain (N = 1); or the patient's expectations had not been fulfilled (N = 2). Preoperative counseling should be used to foster realistic patient and partner expectations. This operation, which appears to improve the quality of life for most diabetic patients with erectile impotence, should be considered a part of standard care and not as a cosmetic procedure or extraordinary care.