Reservoir alternate surgical implantation technique: preliminary outcomes of initial PROPPER study of low profile or spherical reservoir implantation in submuscular location or traditional prevesical space.

Purpose: Alternative reservoir site placement has become an accepted technique for patients who require an inflatable penile prosthesis. To our knowledge there has been no prospective evaluation of this technique, which is currently off label. We performed a prospective, multicenter, multinational, internal review board approved study to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of alternative reservoir site placement.

Materials And Methods: PROPPER initiated in June 2011, is a database containing patient outcomes of inflatable penile prosthesis implantation. Patients with AMS® penile prostheses continue to be enrolled at 13 North American sites. We examined PROPPER study data to determine surgical implantation use patterns for the AMS 700™ series. We evaluated reservoir implantation site and complications by implantation site.

Results: A total of 759 patients had been implanted with an AMS 700 series implant by the time of evaluation. Mean patient followup was 17.8 months (range 0 to 36). There was no reported case of revision surgery for a palpable reservoir and no report of vascular or hollow viscous injury associated with alternative reservoir site placement. Two cases of reservoir herniation in the alternative reservoir site placement group and 2 in the space of Retzius group were treated with reservoir reimplantation. Patients with 1-year assessment available were satisfied or very satisfied with the device and reported a frequency of use of more than once per month.

Conclusions: Alternative reservoir placement in the submuscular location is an option in patients who undergo inflatable penile prosthesis surgery. Implant surgeons should consider alternative reservoir site placement a safe, effective alternative to reservoir placement in the space of Retzius.