A penile implant is used for men who have experienced erectile dysfunction for a prolonged period of time, and they tend to have very high satisfaction rates. However, it is still a medical procedure, and there are risks involved with any surgery, no matter how minor. It is important that patients are aware of these risks, no matter how rare or unlikely they are.

What are some of the risks of getting a penile implant?

Complications with the surgery itself

Getting surgery and going under anesthesia, for whatever reason, comes with risks of its own. Anesthesia can cause pneumonia or phlebitis, an inflammation of vein walls¹. If you have an existing heart problem anesthesia can also exacerbate this¹.

These risks are generally very minimal because you will undergo medical questioning and testing to see if you are a good candidate for the surgery. If your medical team recognizes that you have underlying health conditions that might cause issues, they will advise you to not go through with the procedure. Of course, it is possible that you have an undiagnosed heart condition (or other medical problems) that can become evident during the procedure. If you are concerned for any reason, speak to your medical team.

Post-operative Infection

As with any operation that cuts you open and inserts a foreign object inside your body, infection is possible. There are steps taken in order to reduce this risk as much as possible, but your chance of getting an infection is approximately 1 – 3%².

All good surgeons will take measures to ensure that your chance of infection is minimal. This includes giving you antibiotics, and shaving and disinfecting the area prior to performing surgery³. They then clean their hands and double glove, preventing anything bacteria from their own skin getting on the patient or prosthesis³. Most surgeons today employ the No-Touch technique, which allows the prosthesis to be inserted without touching any skin, reducing the chances of infection⁴. Certain implants, such as the Boston Scientific AMS 700 are also coated in a special antibacterial layer, to further reduce the risk of infection⁵.

Mechanical failure

In some cases, the penile implant will not work, or it will begin to break down sooner than expected. In any case, the longer you have a penile implant, the higher the risk is of it getting damaged. One follow up study found that ten years after surgery, 68.5% of penile implants were still functioning properly (31.5% of patients had experienced some form of mechanical failure)⁶. There are a number of reasons that this might occur, due to the different parts of the implant, and all potential issues with each of these.

In the worst-case scenario, the mechanical failure of a penile prosthesis may require further operating to correct or be removed from the body completely⁷. If you do experience some form of mechanical failure, your medical team will explain what this means for your prosthesis, and how to fix it.

Erosion

Penile implants may begin to wear away at the body from the inside out. Erosion usually occurs when there is also an infection⁸. This happens mostly in the penis, but it is very rare for the implant to erode so much that it breaks through the skin⁸. Erosion can also occur with other parts of the implant, for example the reservoir can erode into the bowel or bladder⁶. When erosion does occur, it happens relatively soon after the prosthesis is implanted – on average 13 weeks after⁹.

Your chances of erosion are slim, but still possible. This type of risk is far more common in semi-rigid prostheses, compared to inflatable options⁹. Erosion is the primary cause of approximately 6% of all removal surgeries for penile implants⁹. This statistic indicates that although they are not a huge problem, it can be very severe if it does occur.

Always understand the risks before you undergo the procedure

Once you have decided to get a penile implant, and you have decided what kind, speak to your medical team about all of the specific risks associated with this. Each penile implant is different, and comes with slightly different potential issues. Of course the risks are incredibly low for all penile implants, but this does not mean that they are negligible.

What Are the Side Effects Associated With Penile Implants?