Penile Implant Infection Rates Linked to Surgeon Experience
Annual penile implant case volume may influence patient reoperation rates, suggests a study published last year in the Journal of Urology.
While most implant procedures are successful, some men require reoperation due to complications like infection and device malfunction. Additional surgery comes with the risk of further infection, penile shortening, and urethral injury.
In this study, researchers analyzed data compiled between 1995 and 2014 in New York's Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) database. This information is derived from all participating institutions in New York State.
Surgeons who performed over 31 procedures annually were considered "high volume implanters."
The researchers found that surgeons in this category had a reoperation rate of 4.8%, compared to 8.5% for implanters who handled 0 to 2 cases per year, 7.4% for those with 3 to 7 cases annually, and 5.0% for those who performed 8 to 31 implants each year.
Patients of surgeons who handled 31 or fewer cases annually were more likely to need reoperation due to infection. No connection between surgeon experience and noninfectious complications was found.
Further details on the study, including the authors' thoughts on why high volume implanters had lower reoperation rates, are available here.
Don't Miss These Upcoming Events in Sexual Medicine
Are you thinking about attending a sexual medicine conference sometime soon? There are a variety to choose from! Check out these listings through the second quarter of 2017:
EAU 2017
March 24, 2017 - March 28, 2017
London, United Kingdom
AUA 2017
May 12, 2017 - May 16, 2017
Boston, USA
SMSNA 2017 Annual Scientific Program
May 12, 2017 - May 12, 2017
Boston, USA
23rd Congress of the World Association for Sexual Health
May 28, 2017 - May 31, 2017
Prague, Czech Republic
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