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Peyronie's
Disease
Crooked Penis - Bent
Penis
Hi Lisa,
My penis
bends really crooked and it happened just this year. I am scared
that I broke my penis. Being that I am 32 years old, I am pretty
worried about it and am not sure what to call it other than
to tell you it is bent and looks broken. Any idea what this
could be?
- Josh
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By
Lisa S. Lawless, Ph.D.
Psychotherapist & Sex Expert
CEO & Founder of
Holistic Wisdom, Inc. & NAASAS
Copyright © Holistic Wisdom, Inc.
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It sounds
like you may have what is called Peyronie's disease. However,
you should see your physician to get a full exam and a diagnosis.
- Cases
of Peyronie's disease range from mild to severe. Symptoms
may develop slowly or appear overnight. In severe cases,
the hardened plaque reduces flexibility, causing pain
and forcing the penis to bend or arc during erection.
- In
many cases, the pain decreases over time, but the bend
in the penis may remain a problem, making sexual intercourse
difficult.
-
Many researchers believe Peyronie's disease develops following
trauma (hitting or bending) that causes localized bleeding
inside the penis.
-
If the penis is abnormally bumped or bent, an area where
the septum attaches to the elastic fibers may stretch
beyond a limit, injuring the lining of the erectile chamber
and, for example, rupturing small blood vessels.
-
This is exactly why we do not recommend extreme forms
of penis enlargement stretching and pulling.
While
trauma might explain acute cases of Peyronie's disease,
it does not explain why most cases develop slowly and with
no apparent traumatic event. It also does not explain why
some cases disappear quickly or why similar conditions such
as Dupuytren's contracture do not seem to result from severe
trauma. Some researchers theorize that Peyronie's disease
may be an autoimmune disorder.
-
Hardened
tissue (plaque) in the penis
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Curve
in the penis during erection.
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Distortion
of the penis (e.g., indentation, shortening)
Treatment
In roughly
20% of cases, Peyronie's will go away on its own. The damaged
area might heal slowly or abnormally for two reasons: repeated
trauma and a minimal amount of blood flow in the sheath-like
fibers.
In cases
that heal within about a year, the plaque does not advance
beyond an initial inflammatory phase. In cases that persist
for years, the plaque undergoes fibrosis, or formation of
tough fibrous tissue, and even calcification, or formation
of calcium deposits.
Some
researchers have given vitamin E orally to men with Peyronie's
disease in small-scale studies and have reported improvements.
Yet, no controlled studies have established the effectiveness
of vitamin E therapy. Similar inconclusive success has been
attributed to oral application of para-aminobenzoate, a
substance belonging to the family of B-complex molecules.
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| In
EXTREME examples, surgery can provide relief. This
picture is of a 57-year old man with extreme penile
curvature. |
| While
Peyronie's disease may cause the penis to turn upward
it may also cause the penis to turn downward as shown
in the picture below of a man with a full erection
while his penis turns downward. |
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Chemical agents
such as verapamil, collagenase, steroids, calcium channel blockers,
and interferon alpha-2b directly into the plaques. These interventions
are still considered unproven because studies included small numbers
of patients and lacked adequate control groups. Steroids, such as
cortisone, have produced unwanted side effects, such as the atrophy
or death of healthy tissues.
Radiation
therapy, in which high-energy rays are aimed at the plaque, has
also been used. Like some of the chemical treatments, radiation
appears to reduce pain, but it has no effect at all on the plaque
itself and can cause unwelcome side effects.
Peyronie's
disease has been treated surgically with some success. The two
most common surgical procedures are removal or expansion of the
plaque followed by placement of a patch of skin or artificial
material, and removal or pinching of tissue from the side of the
penis opposite the plaque, which cancels out the bending effect.
The first method can involve partial loss of erectile function,
especially rigidity. The second method, known as the Nesbit procedure,
causes a shortening of the erect penis.
Some men choose
to receive an implanted device that increases rigidity of the
penis. In some cases, an implant alone will straighten the penis
adequately. In other cases, implantation is combined with a technique
of incisions and grafting or plication (pinching or folding the
skin) if the implant alone does not straighten the penis.
Most types
of surgery produce positive results. But because complications
can occur, and because many of the phenomena associated with Peyronie's
disease (for example, shortening of the penis) are not corrected
by surgery, most doctors prefer to perform surgery only on the
small number of men with curvature so severe that it prevents
sexual intercourse.
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