Novel penile implant at AKUH gives hope to region’s men with erectile dysfunction
The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi (AKUH,N) has carried out a penile implant procedure to treat erectile dysfunction, the first procedure of its kind in East and Central Africa.
The procedure was performed on a man in his 40s, who had been suffering from erectile dysfunction for a number of years, the hospital said, adding that the patient had previously been under other treatment regimes without success.
“The procedure takes about an hour and involves implanting a prosthesis device in the penis. The advantage of this surgery is that the man can have intercourse anytime they like without using medication,” explained Dr Ahmed Yousef, a Consultant Urologist and the lead surgeon for the procedure.
Dr Yousef noted that the tests conducted on the patient including a penile doppler ultrasound showed that he had severe venous leakage causing the problem and an implant was the ideal treatment for the patient.
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“Through this procedure, his erectile dysfunction condition has been treated. If he had issues with premature ejaculation, it will also be treated by this procedure,” adds Dr Yousef.
This is the first time for this procedure to be conducted in East Africa because it requires rare specialized expertise, which is a sub-specialty in urology.
It is estimated that roughly 15-20 percent of men globally suffer from erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation. Many of them, however, suffer in silence due to the nature of the problem.
Erectile dysfunction is the inability of some men to achieve or maintain an erection that is firm enough to have sexual intercourse. In other words, the penis does not get hard enough to allow one to have sex.
Some of the common causes of the problem are heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, sickle cell disease, smoking, and sleep disorders, among others.
