Management of Congenital Penile Curvature

PurposeThe long-term results of the management in adulthood of congenital curvature of the penis (ventral, lateral and dorsal) without hypospadias using 3 different techniques are carefully evaluated based on our experience.Materials and MethodsA total of 116 patients were operated on for congenital curvature of the penis without hypospadias in adulthood between January 1985 and December 2004 of whom 87 (75%) (mean age 24 years) were available for evaluation by a telephone survey. A total of 54 ventral, 28 lateral and 5 dorsal penile curvatures were operated on with a mean followup of 89 months. Bend was managed with Nesbit’s procedure in 18, plication in 7 and the Heineke-Mikulitz technique in 62 men.ResultsThere were no significant intraoperative or postoperative complications. Overall 81 of the 87 patients (93.1%) were successfully treated with 1 operation. Curvature recurrence was less common in patients treated with the Heineke-Mikulitz technique. There were no complaints of de novo erectile dysfunction, but 15 men complained of shortening of the penis and 4 experienced decreased sensation of the glans.ConclusionsAlthough feasible in cases of different types of congenital curvature, in our 20-year experience chordectomy always reduced the bend but patients could never completely straighten the penis by themselves. Surgical correction was reported by patients to be highly successful using the Heineke-Mikulitz technique, and statistical analysis revealed it to be significantly better than plication or the Nesbit procedure in terms of palpable nodules, recurrence and overall satisfaction.