J Korean Androl Soc.  1996 Jun;14(1):35-41.

Intracavernous Self-Injcetion of Papaverine Plus Phentolamine for Treatment of Impotence: Long-Term Follow-Up in 156 Patients Treated for More than 1 Year

• Ahn SY
• Kim SC

Abstract

The intracavernous injection of a mixture of papaverine and phenolamine is more satisfactory than papaverine alone as a treatment for erectile dysfunction but is associated with a relatively high incidence of fibrous plaque formation and priapism. We reviewed 156 impotent men, 28 to 77 years of age, who used intracavernous self-injection with papaverine (23.3mg/mL) plus phentolamine (0.9mg/mL) for more than 1 year (average 3.0+/-1.8 years). The mean dose of the vasoactive mixture per injection was 0.43+/-0.23mL. The patients with psychogenic or neurogenic impotence required significantly lower doses to obtain a functionally adequate erection than did those with either vasculogenic or diabetogenic impotence. One hundred forty-four patients (92.3%) were able to get an erection sufficient for sexual activity. The drop-out rate was 25.0%, and the most common cause was inadequate erection. Nineteen patients (12.2%) showed spontaneous recovery of erection during the therapy. Thirty-three patients (21.2%) developed fibrous plaques at the injection site. The incidence of this complication was not significantly correlated with the frequency of self-injection or the total number of injections but was significantly correlated with the dose of drug per injection (p<0.05). Fibrous plaque appears to be relatively common in patients using intracavernous self-injection with papaverine and phentolamine for more than 1 year. Thus, careful attention should be paid to the possible development of fibrous plaques after high-dose therapy.

MeSH Terms

Erectile Dysfunction*
Fibrosis
Follow-Up Studies*
Humans
Incidence
Male
Papaverine*
Penis
Phentolamine*
Priapism
Sexual Behavior
Papaverine
Phentolamine