Peyronie's disease—the Plymouth experience of extracorporeal shockwave treatment

Abstract

Objective To describe our experience of the use of extracorporeal shockwave treatment (EST) for Peyronie's disease. Patients and methods The study included 28 patients (mean age 57 years, range 34±72) with stable Peyronie's disease who were treated with 3.9 (3±5) sessions of EST to the Peyronie's plaque. The patients' erectile function, pain and penile angle were assessed before and after treatment with EST.Results Of the 28 patients, 20 felt that their erection improved after the procedure; 11 patients were able to recommence sexual intercourse and the index of erectile function increased in all but one patient. Conclusion EST produces a signi®cant improvement in pain and penile angle, with no serious complications.

An alternative non-invasive treatment for Peyronie's disease

“…In previous studies, the proportion of patients showing an improvement in their erection with ESWT therapy ranged from 47% to 71% (12,13). We associated vitamin E, a common treatment for Peyronie's disease, using the dosage of 1.200 mg daily (4 times greater than the dose proposal) (2) and ESWT in the attempt of improving the deformity in a non-invasive way.…”

“…On the other hand, there are quite a lot of surgical procedures to repair penile deformities; all of them are invasive, with significant disadvantages to the patient. Recently, encouraging results with the extra corporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) were reported (12,13).…”

Long-Term Results of Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Peyronie's Disease

“…[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Many of the studies have been criticized for their lack of objectivity and relatively short follow-up periods (mean follow-up 1-9 months), and there is, therefore, a paucity of longterm data with regard to therapy effectiveness and safety. There also is a lack of information regarding the long-term durability of the response after initial success.…”

“…The use of extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) for Peyronie's disease was introduced by Bellorofonte and associates 1 as a conservative option, and since then, numerous reports have addressed the efficacy of this treatment. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Reported results have been discordant, with some showing promising responses to ESWT with reductions in deformity, plaque size, and pain and concurrent improvement in sexual function, whereas others demonstrate no significant benefit. 8,10,11 In spite of reports of success and low complication rates, previous studies have been criticized for small patient numbers, absence of a control arm, use of subjective outcome measures, and lack of long-term follow-up.…”

Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Peyronie's Disease: Who Benefits?

“…11 Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) has been used since the 1980s and has shown some promising results. 12,13 Although there appears to be an overall benefit from EWST, some studies have noticed significant variations in response. For example, Hauck and associates 14 found no improvement in their group as a whole but noticed a "remarkable decrease in curvature" in 30% of their patients.…”