Do Penile Implants Help Reduce Incontinence?

Experiencing urinary incontinence can be embarrassing and incredibly frustrating. It may impact a large part of your life, and prevent you from enjoying things that you used to. For many men, a number of the treatment options available don’t work, or they aren’t convenient due to the fact that they are only temporary. A potential solution may be a penile implant.

What causes urinary incontinence?

Urinary incontinence is defined as the loss of urine uncontrollably or unintentionally¹. There are three different types of urinary incontinence:

Stress incontinence

Experiencing incontinence from activities such as sneezing, coughing, or lifting heavy objects¹. This is generally related to a weakened or damaged urethral sphincter². This is the type of incontinence that can be helped the most by a penile implant.

Urge incontinence

When you have an overwhelming urge to urinate that you cannot control, and you experience incontinence even though you try and hold it¹.

Overflow incontinence

When you tend to experience frequent urinating in small amounts, and in between there is also constant leakage¹.

There are a number of different medical issues that can result in an individual experiencing incontinence. These can include diabetes, Parkinson’s, or Overactive Bladder (OAB)³. One of the most common causes of urinary stress incontinence is a radical prostatectomy⁴. This involves removing the entire prostate gland, usually due to prostate cancer⁵. In many situations (such as patients who have undergone some form of prostatectomy) urinary incontinence occurs with other symptoms such as erectile dysfunction⁴.

So how does a penile implant help?

A penile implant has been found to be a successful method of treatment in patients who suffer from incontinence, but also erectile dysfunction⁴. A study was done on patients who had symptoms of erectile dysfunction or urinary incontinence caused by a radical prostatectomy⁴. The results found that an inflatable prosthesis can close off the urinary sphincter when partially or fully inflated, eliminating incontinence in the majority of patients⁴. This physically prevents any leakage, although it does not actually fix the cause of the issue, which is the sphincter. Regardless, it means that patients now have control of their bladder, and will no longer experience incontinence.

Is a penile implant right for me?

It’s important to understand that a penile implant is usually the last resort in an attempt to reduce the effects of incontinence. This is also usually done in the presence of other health issues, most notably erectile dysfunction. There are a number of alternative treatment methods that doctors will suggest first, as they are less invasive and less permanent. If you and your doctor believe that you have tried all other possible methods, they may discuss with you the possibility of getting a penile implant.

Generally, a penile implant is only used as a treatment method when the patient displays symptoms of erectile dysfunction as well. This is because it is not actually seen as the gold standard of treating incontinence – an artificial urinary sphincter is². Therefore patients who only display this symptom are far better at selecting this procedure, for a higher success rate.

It’s also necessary to understand that a penile implant may not fix all kinds of urinary incontinence – it depends on the cause of your problem. A penile implant may not be a feasible solution for all patients with incontinence.

Penile implant can also lead to incontinence

Although it is rare, getting a penile implant can actually lead to worse incontinence issues⁶. This often occurs when a penile implant is inserted as well as a urinary sphincter, but one or both of these devices is defective⁶. Although this is incredibly rare, this is just another reason why you need to receive treatment from reputable professionals.

The Penile Implant Surgeons is a reputable practice, with highly experienced surgeons. We have four different locations throughout the state of California, and we have years of experience implanting penile prostheses in patients who suffer from incontinence. Every single one of our surgeons is capable of performing these procedures correctly so that you can live your life free from the stress of incontinence.

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