Treatment of Peyronie's disease by incomplete circumferential incision of the tunica albuginea and plaque with bovine pericardium graft.

Objectives: To study the surgical treatment of Peyronie's disease using a single incision in the tunica albuginea and fibrotic plaque and repair of the defect by bovine pericardium graft.

Methods: Between April 1999 and May 2001, 33 patients who had had symptoms of Peyronie's disease for more than 12 months and whose disease had been stable for more than 6 months underwent surgery. The reason for surgery was deformity of the penis that made sexual intercourse, even with erection, difficult or impossible. Two paraurethral incisions were made in Buck's fascia to separate the neurovascular bundle from the tunica albuginea. An incomplete circumferential incision, forked at the extremities, was made in the tunica albuginea and in the plaque at the point of maximal curvature, followed by a septal incision for the lengthening of the short side of the penis. A bovine pericardium graft was used to repair the defect in the tunica. All procedures were performed by a single surgeon (P.H.E.). The average follow-up time was 19.4 months (range 5 to 30).

Results: No rejection or retraction of the graft was observed. All patients maintained their state of preoperative erection, with the penis corrected in 87.9% of cases and with discrete curvature (less than 15 degrees ) in 12.1%. All recovered their ability to penetrate with no difficulty. In addition, an intraoperative average increase of 2.21 cm (range 1 to 4) occurred in the size of the penis.

Conclusions: This procedure is effective for all types of penile deformity, regardless of the plaque characteristics.