RECOVERY OF POTENCY AFTER RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY: PENILE INJECTIONS
To recap: The keys to a normal erection are for the arteries to open and fill the penis with blood, and for the veins to close, so the blood can’t escape the penis; the smooth muscle tissue also needs to relax. Several drugs can produce erections by making these events happen. They are vasodilators; they open up blood vessels, making a wider channel for blood to go through. They also cause the smooth muscle tissue to relax and the veins to close. The main advantage here is that these drugs produce an absolutely normal erection. Some of these erection-producing drugs include papaverine, phentolamine, and prostaglandin E-1.
It usually takes less than five minutes for one of these drugs to work, and the erection can last as long as a couple of hours. It will be important for your doctor to determine the lowest possible doseyoxi need to achieve an erection; this will help reduce the risk of side effects. Other ways to help lessen side effects include limiting injections to no more than once a day, and using an insulin syringe (which has a smaller needle than many syringes) to minimize pain and bleeding from the injection. Also, men should compress the site where the needle went in for three minutes after the injection; this also helps reduce bleeding and tissue damage.
Penile injection is not for everybody. These erection-producing agents won’t help men with vascular problems. However, they do work in most patients. Because of the nature of this therapy—giving the penis a shot—it obviously is not ideal for men who can’t see well, men with poor hand-eye coordination, or men who are very overweight. Also, because many erection-producing drugs reduce blood pressure, this can cause problems for some men with heart disease.
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