Peyronie’s Disease: Etiology and Treatment

Abstract

In 1743, François Gigot de la Peyronie described the fibrous penile plaques that we now associate with his name. These plaques have been characterized histologically (Brock et al. 1997), ultrastructurally (Hirano et al. 1997), and, to some degree, molecularly (El-Sakka et al. 1997b; Hirano et al. 1997; Magee et al. 2002). Although there is no universal consensus on the definition, most authors describe Peyronie’s disease as some combination of penile pain, deformity, and/or palpable plaque (Mulhall et al. 2004; Zargooshi 2004). In general, the penile deformity adopts a dorsal curvature although the manifestation may be protean. One series described 46% dorsal curvature, 29% lateral, and 9% ventral, with the remained being mixed or a combination of curvatures (Kadioglu et al. 2002). Although curvature is the most common deformity, other malformations can occur, including penile shortening, hinging, and indentations or bottle-neck configurations. Additionally, erectile dysfunction is a common (20–40%) associated finding; this may be generalized or localized (i.e., flaccidity limited to distal to the lesion).