Arteriographically determined occlusive disease within the hypogastric-cavernous bed in impotent patients following blunt perineal and pelvic trauma

To determine the presence, location and pattern of arterial occlusive disease within the hypogastric-cavernous arterial bed in impotent men following blunt perineal and pelvic trauma, we reviewed the selective internal pudendal arteriograms of 20 patients with a history of blunt perineal and 7 with blunt pelvic trauma who had immediate development of impotence. Arteriographic studies of 104 other impotent patients also were reviewed and compared. Patients with persistent impotence immediately after blunt pelvic and perineal trauma had significantly different patterns of arteriographically demonstrated occlusive disease within the distal hypogastric-cavernous arterial bed consistent with the site of the traumatic injury. Those who sustained blunt pelvic trauma and complained of immediate impotence revealed arterial occlusive lesions mainly in the internal pudendal, common penile, cavernous and dorsal arteries. The incidence of arterial lesions in the distal internal pudendal or common penile artery was significantly higher (p less than 0.01) in patients with blunt pelvic trauma (92%) than in those with blunt perineal trauma (35%). Patients who sustained blunt perineal trauma and complained of immediate impotence demonstrated a more focal pattern of pathological arterial occlusion primarily in the cavernous and dorsal arteries. The incidence of a solitary arterial lesion in the cavernous artery without proximal disease was significantly higher (p less than 0.05) in patients with blunt perineal trauma (48%) than in those with blunt pelvic trauma (8%). It is hypothesized that blunt trauma without immediate impotence may be a potential risk factor for later development of arterial vasculogenic impotence, and that unrecognized or seemingly innocuous trauma may be a factor in cases of idiopathic impotence. Patients without trauma and with vascular risk factors have a more diffuse pattern of arteriographically demonstrated arterial lesions.     

Venous incompetence: critical study of the organic basis of high maintenance flow rates during artificial erection test

We tested whether the necessity for high flow rates of saline to maintain an artificial erection actually corresponds to an organic abnormality able to induce impotence as claimed recently. A total of 56 patients with presumed vascular impotence and 13 with typical psychogenic impotence underwent dynamic cavernosography followed by the artificial erection test. The former 56 patients also underwent bilateral selective internal iliac arteriography. A severely elevated maintenance flow rate (more than 120 ml. per minute) was found in 19 of the 56 patients with vascular and none of the 13 with psychogenic impotence, while a moderately elevated maintenance flow rate (80 to 120 ml. per minute) was found in 11 and 3, respectively. In most cases a severely elevated maintenance flow rate was associated with arterial (16 patients) or neurological abnormalities able to disturb erection. However, a severely elevated maintenance flow rate seemed to correspond to an organic abnormality able to induce impotence or to worsen erectile failure induced by other organic factors. Indeed, we found no severely elevated maintenance flow rates among our 13 patients with psychogenic impotence and the nocturnal penile tumescence test was normal in only 1 of 12 tested patients, although 7 had no other organic impairment sufficient to induce impotence (only moderate arterial stenoses in 4). In addition, sexual treatment succeeded in only 1 of the 13 patients, while our success rate is 43 per cent among patients with arterial impotence exclusively and this treatment succeeded in 6 of 10 patients with a moderately elevated maintenance flow rate. On the contrary, a moderately elevated maintenance flow rate does not seem to correspond to a genuine organic abnormality able to induce impotence. Indeed, we found it in 3 of 13 patients with psychogenic impotence, and every patient with a moderately elevated maintenance flow rate and normal arteries had a normal nocturnal penile tumescence test or was cured by sexual therapy. In conclusion, a maintenance flow rate exceeding 120 ml. per minute seems to reveal a genuine venous incompetence but in most cases this abnormality is only the cofactor of an arterial obstruction.     

Pre-operative assessment of Peyronie's disease using colour Doppler sonography.

Colour Doppler ultrasonography was used to assess 39 patients with Peyronie's disease with a suspected organic cause for their impotence. In 20 patients who complained of a uniform loss of erection, the impotence was likely to be functional in origin (90%) or occasionally venogenic (10%), the penile arterial blood flow being normal. However, patients who complained of distal flaccidity were likely to have an organic cause for their impotence (68%). This was due to proximal arterial disease (10%), plaque involvement of the distal vessels (37%), veno-occlusive dysfunction (5%) or to the soft glans syndrome (16%).     

Diagnosis of male impotence after intracavernous papaverine test

The diagnosis and treatment of male impotence have been radically modified by the introduction of intracavernous injections of papaverine. Papaverine treatment can solve more than 70% of male impotence cases, so that the real clue to the diagnosis of impotence is to discriminate between patients who can be treated by papaverine alone and patients deserving thorough investigation. The association of papaverine injection plus video sexual stimulation for this purpose was adopted in our last 250 unselected patients and represents a valuable tool. 115 of 250 achieved successful treatment for their impotence according the following percentages: intracavernous papaverine injections at the practice or at home 75.8%; prosthesis, 19.1%; venous surgery, 3.4%, and arterial surgery, 1.7%.     

Combined papaverine test and radionuclide penile blood flow in impotence: method and preliminary results.

The investigation of vascular impotence requires a simple, reliable and non-invasive method of estimating penile arterial supply. A method for measuring flow to the dependent portion of the penis has been developed using technetium-labelled red blood cells (99mTc-RBC). Its use, in conjunction with the intracavernous injection of papaverine, was investigated in 32 patients with various causes of impotence. Intracavernous papaverine was administered and a pneumatic cuff was inflated around the base of the penis both to isolate the penile circulation and to prevent dispersion of papaverine. The remaining blood pool was labelled with 99mTc-RBC. A gamma camera was used to produce a time-activity curve for the penis following release of the cuff. Penile blood flow was calculated from the initial gradient of the time-activity curve. Papaverine-stimulated penile blood flow was significantly greater in patients without evidence of arterial insufficiency. None of the subjects with arterial disease achieved flows greater than 20 ml/min/100 ml, while flow in patients without arterial disease exceeded this value. Flow estimation without the use of papaverine was not able reliably to discriminate between the 2 groups. There was no difference in papaverine-stimulated blood flow between impotent subjects with veno-sinusoidal leakage, in the absence of arterial disease, and a control group who achieved full erection with papaverine. It was therefore possible, by assessing the response to papaverine and measuring arterial blood flow, to distinguish between arterial insufficiency, veno-sinusoidal leakage and non-vascular causes of impotence. The method requires little skill and can be modified for use with inexpensive equipment.     

The role of colour duplex ultrasonography in the diagnosis of vasculogenic impotence.

Colour duplex ultrasonography was used to obtain peak systolic velocity (PSV) readings from cavernosal arteries at rest and during papaverine-induced tumescence. Results from 31 men with vasculogenic impotence were compared with those from 17 men with non-vasculogenic impotence and a control group of 6 potent men. In the flaccid state no significant differences in PSV readings were found between the vasculogenic and control groups. Following the injection of papaverine, men from the vasculogenic group without venous leakage were alone in having significantly lower PSV readings compared with the potent controls. All 23 men with normal penile haemodynamics had a mean PSV greater than or equal to 20 cm/s during tumescence. This was also the case for 19 (61%) of the vasculogenic group, including 9 (69%) of the 13 patients with venous leakage. The remaining 12 men in the vasculogenic group (39%) had a mean PSV less than 20 cm/s, this being diagnostic of an inadequate arterial inflow. Colour duplex ultrasonography can identify patients who have marked arterial insufficiency as the major cause of their impotence and hence allows more rational selection for angiography and revascularisation. Lesser degrees of arterial deficit are difficult to characterise using mean PSV readings alone.     

Vasculogenic impotence and cavernosal oxygen tension

AIMS OF THIS STUDY: To determine the associations, if any, of cavernosal oxygen tension with vasculogenic impotence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated penile cavernosal blood gas levels in men with suspected vasculogenic impotence during penile duplex ultrasonography and/or dynamic infusion cavernosometry and cavernosography (DICC). Patients with suspected impotence were evaluated from 1992-1996. Patient ages ranged from 24-75 y (mean 48 y). Eighteen men had arteriogenic impotence diagnosed by abnormal penile duplex ultrasound after injection of a vasoactive agent, and 23 men had venous leakage diagnosed by DICC. RESULTS: Eighteen men with arteriogenic impotence had the following mean blood gas values: pH = 7.38+/-0.01, PCO2 = 45.50+/-0.94, PO2 = 65.17+/-2.16. Twenty-three men with venogenic (venous leak) impotence had the following mean cavernosal blood gas values: pH = 7.41+/-0.01, PCO2 = 42.26+/-0.83, PO2 = 74.17+/-2.51. The differences in PO2 were significant (P<0.05). A subgroup of men with severe venous leakage had PO2 values that were similar to the low arterial PO2 values. CONCLUSION: The low PO2 in patients with arteriogenic impotence, and the subset of men with severe venous leak impotence, support a global concept of low cavernosal PO2 as a mechanism for both arteriogenic and venogenic impotence.     

Minoxidil versus nitroglycerin: a prospective double-blind controlled trial in transcutaneous erection facilitation for organic impotence

A new type of topically applied drug (minoxidil) to facilitate erection is presented. Minoxidil acts directly on arterial smooth muscles via relaxation. This drug (1 ml. of a 2% solution) was studied under strict laboratory conditions in a double-blind controlled trial on 33 patients (4 with neurogenic plus arterial, 10 with neurogenic and 19 with arterial impotence) and compared to placebo and nitroglycerin (2.5 gm. of a 10% ointment). The application sites were the penile shaft (nitroglycerin) or glans penis (minoxidil and placebo). Increases in diameter and rigidity were measured with the RigiScan device and arterial flow was evaluated by conventional Doppler sonography. Side effects were considered as well. This drug proved to be more active than nitroglycerin and placebo in increasing diameter, rigidity and arterial flow of the penis. The highest activity proved to occur in neurogenically impotent patients. Fewer side effects also were found with minoxidil than with nitroglycerin. For these reasons minoxidil is proposed as a long-term therapeutic agent for organic impotence.     

Venous leakage: surgical treatment of a curable cause of impotence

While the arterial aspects of erectile impotence recently have received considerable attention, the venous component of normal and impaired erection has been ignored. In this study venous leakage was demonstrated by inducing passive erections using a controlled perfusion of the corpora cavernosa with continuous pressure monitoring. In 20 patients with impaired erectile activity under a standardized flow (80 to 120 ml. per minute) no rigid erections were obtained and the perfused liquid was demonstrated to escape through the deep dorsal vein of the penis. After ligation of this vein the erections improved sufficiently to allow satisfactory intercourse in 16 of the 20 patients. The 4 failures had serious arterial lesions. In patients with organic impotence the venous pathological condition should be assessed routinely, since it represents an easily correctable anomaly if arterial inflow is not severely impaired.     

骨盆骨折合并后尿道损伤后阳萎发生机理的临床研究

为探讨骨盆骨折后尿道损伤后发生阳萎的机理、收集５１例骨盆骨折、后尿道损伤后患者的资料，对其性功能状况进行随访，并对１０例阳萎患者进行了有关阴茎勃起功能的检查。结果表明：伤后阳萎是初期损伤和（或）手术损伤所造成的阴茎神经、动脉损伤所致。由于解剖上的原因，单纯早期损伤所致阳萎多为神经性阳萎，而手术损伤多为动脉性阳萎。此外，损伤程度、伤时年龄及伤后时间等因素与阳萎的发病也有一定的关系。     

New concept parameters of RigiScan in differentiation of vascular erectile dysfunction: Is it a useful test?

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to investigate the value of new nocturnal penile tumescence recording parameters, such as tumescence activity unit and rigidity activity unit values, total erection number and erection times, in differentiating between psychogenic erectile dysfunction and organic erectile dysfunction. We also aimed to determine the role of these parameters in differentiating arterial erectile dysfunction from veno-occlusive dysfunction. METHODS: Eighty-seven consecutive patients were allocated into three groups as psychogenic, arterial and venous erectile dysfunction after investigations. Nocturnal penile tumescence recording parameters between psychogenic and vascular erectile dysfunction and arterial and veno-occlusive dysfunction were compared. Mann-Whitney U-test, Pearson's chi2 test and correlation coefficient tests were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Depending on intracavernous injection, penile Doppler ultrasonography and cavernosometry tests, 37 patients (43%) had psychogenic impotence while 50 (57%) had organic pathologies. Of the 50 patients diagnosed with vascular impotence, 29 (48%) had arterial failure and 21 (42%) had veno-occlusive dysfunction. Nocturnal penile tumescence recording revealed psychogenic erectile dysfunction in 34 patients (39%) and vascular erectile dysfunction in 53 patients (61%). Nocturnal penile tumescence recording has been regarded as the gold standard and, in our series, it showed 90.6% sensitivity and 88.2% specificity in differentiating the cause of erectile dysfunction. Values of rigidity activity unit and tumescence activity unit were significantly higher in patients with psychogenic impotence (P < 0.001), when compared with vascular impotence. In patients with a vascular cause, no difference was found between arterial failure and veno-occlusive dysfunction with regard to tip tumescence activity unit, base tumescence activity unit, tip rigidity activity unit, base rigidity activity unit and erection time (P > 0.001). However, patients with arterial failure had less erection than patients with veno-occlusive dysfunction (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: New recording parameters of nocturnal penile tumescence can differentiate organic and psychogenic erectile dysfunction more precisely. However, these recording parameters cannot distinguish subgroups with a vascular cause of erectile dysfunction.     

Management of corporal veno-occlusive dysfunction.

Veno-occlusive dysfunction has become a recognized cause of organic impotence. The existence of concomitant arterial and sinus smooth-muscle disease makes this disorder often difficult to diagnose. It rarely can be the sole etiology for impotence. The authors' experience in the treatment of this disorder in over 100 patients is presented. The authors rely on cavernosometry/pharmacocavernosometry/pharmacocavernosogr aphy and the color duplex Doppler screening test (to eliminate concomitant arterial disease) as the primary diagnostic tools. Twenty-two patients of 58 (38%) have achieved long-lasting success from the surgery so that they are able to have vaginal intercourse. Another 12 patients (21%) have been improved but must depend upon pharmacological injection therapy to obtain a sufficient erection for intercourse. There has been a 41% failure rate, and these are discussed.     

Cavernometry-cavernography: its role in organic impotence

The intracavernous pressure necessary to produce a passive erection was recorded in 35 patients suffering from impotence. Among these patients, 5 presented psychogenic impotence. The intracavernous pressure was also recorded at rest during inflow and in the state of erection. The 5 psychogenically impotent patients had passive erections with a flow of 80-120 ml/min. 18 patients suffering from organic impotence developed passive erections at a flow of 80-120 ml/min, while the remaining 12 men needed a flow between 160 and 300 ml/min with visualization of a venous leak. The intracavernous pressure varied between 90 and 110 mm Hg in the state of erection. Artificial erection, induced in impotent men, allows to classify patients with vascular organic impotence into three categories: those with pure arterial insufficiency; those with pure venous leak, and patients with both.     

Venous surgery for impotence

Venous surgery for impotence is in a dynamic state. The drainage of the corpora cavernosa normally occurs through the crural veins or the cavernous veins and the deep dorsal penile vein. Patients with drainage seen on cavernosography only into a superficial system that persists after injection of intracavernous vasoactive agents are likely to have good results if this drainage is eliminated. This type of patient is not common. A surgical approach that attempts to eliminate the deep dorsal penile system or the crural veins is not as successful. Perhaps subtle arterial disease, concurrent presence of neurologic disease, and collateralization all add to the significant failure rate. Many failures of spontaneous erection will, however, respond to intracavernous injection of vasoactive agents postoperatively. Deep dorsal vein arterialization probably should be reserved for those patients who have an arterial component to their impotence as well as a venogenic cause.     

Autonomic nerve involvement and venous leakage in diabetic men with impotence

OBJECTIVE: To determine the neurophysiological and vascular factors in diabetic impotence, particularly the role of autonomic neuropathy on venous leakage and erectile impotence. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-four diabetic men with impotence were investigated using various neurophysiological and radiological methods. The results were compared with those from patients with idiopathic penile venous leakage for autonomic neuropathy, especially for spontaneous cavernosal activity (SCA). RESULTS: Of the neurophysiological tests, the SCA was most frequently abnormal, with the loss of normal periodic oscillations. Penile venous leakage, either alone or with arterial insufficiency, was the most frequent vascular problem (67%) in patients with diabetic impotence, in whom the SCA was absent in most (83%). Conversely, the SCA was normal in all impotent patients with idiopathic venous leakage. CONCLUSION: Venous leakage in diabetic patients is probably produced by autonomic dysfunction of the penile vascular innervation or degeneration of penile smooth muscles, because the SCA was absent more often in these patients.     

Erectile impotence and its management

The use of pharmacologically-induced penile erections is a most promising mode of diagnosis and treatment of erectile impotence. A combination of papaverine and phentolamine is injected into the corpora cavernosa and the resultant erection usually lasts 2-4 hours. Insertion of penile prosthesis is expensive with a significant number of complications; whilst penile arterial revascularisation needs to be used very selectively for even moderately successful results to be achieved. Self-injection of the drugs can be taught and this technique appears to be an extremely safe and useful form of treatment for the majority of men with erectile impotence.     

Impotence following pelvic fracture

A group of 42 men (mean age, 26.7 years) with pelvic fractures as the result of motor vehicle accidents were evaluated for impotence 48 hours after injury. Hormone levels were normal in all patients tested. One half (21/42) of the patients had abnormal penile:brachial arterial ratios. Of this group, 13/21 had abnormal bulbocavernosus reflex (BCR): four patients were paraplegic and nine had urethral injuries. Followup of available patients to 20 months reflects persistent impotence in those who experienced vasculogenic trauma. Only 2/21 patients with normal tests (vascular, hormonal, neurologic) complain of impotence (followup at 23 months); one of these patients is in litigation.     

Internal iliac artery revascularization in the treatment of vasculogenic impotence

Five impotent men underwent internal iliac artery revascularization in conjunction with end-to-side aortobifemoral bypass after preoperative testing suggested a vasculogenic cause for impotence. All patients had abnormal preoperative penile/brachial arterial pressure indices (mean, 0.42 +/- 0.12). Following operation, all patients regained erectile capability and had normal postoperative penile/brachial indices (mean, 0.80 +/- 0.06). One patient developed retrograde ejaculation, emphasizing the need for meticulous nerve-sparing dissection with this operation. Internal iliac artery revascularization in conjunction with end-to-side aortobifemoral bypass is effective in relieving vasculogenic impotence in properly selected patients.     

Neurophysiological investigations of two hundred men with erectile dysfunction. Interest of bulbocavernosus reflex and pudendal evoked responses

Two-Hundred consecutive patients complaining of impotence have had complete urological and neurophysiological investigations to determine a possible organic cause of their sexual dysfunction. All patients had urological and neurological history and examination: nocturnal penile plethysmography, papaverine intracavernosus injection, penile arterial doppler and/or arteriography, cavernography-cavernometry, serum hormonal levels, and bulbocavernosus reflex (BCR). Peripheral conduction velocities and pudendal-evoked responses (PER) were also performed if neurological history or examination and/or BCR were abnormal. Only 30 patients (15%) had an abnormal BCR. In 17 patients, a neurological associated disorder was found. Four patients had normal erections during plethysmography, despite their complaints. Nine patients with an isolated prolonged BCR also presented a vascular abnormality that could explain impotence. Abnormal PER was observed only in 6 patients, 4 of them with a prolonged BCR as well. These results suggest that PER is not an interesting neurophysiological routine test for the diagnosis of neurogenic impotence and that the relationship between an abnormal BCR and neurogenic impotence is doubtful.     

Application of computerised penile arterial waveform analysis in the diagnosis of arteriogenic impotence. An initial study in potent and impotent men

A new method is described for evaluating arteriogenic impotence by means of noninvasive quantification of penile Doppler arterial waveforms using computerised analysis based on the Laplace Transform model. The haemodynamic changes occurring during a papaverine-induced erection in healthy potent volunteers have been recorded by this technique, which has also been shown to be capable of discriminating between a normal and an abnormal penile arterial supply in an initial study of potent and impotent men.