Patients

The present randomized controlled study enrolled 123 patients with severe ED who were admitted to our hospital from March 2011 to February 2015. All of the patients underwent implantation of a three-piece IPP for the first time. A diagnosis of ED was made on the basis of the patient’s medical history and physical examination and laboratory test results, including the free testosterone and lipid profile. Penile duplex sonography and neurologic examination were used to detect the causes of ED. The diagnostic criteria details were as follows: 1) over 50% failure on sexual intercourse (minimum of four attempts); and 2) a score of less than 11 for the five-item of International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) for more than 6 months.¹⁴ Inclusion criteria were as follows: 1) ED patients with no response to conventional oral pharmacotherapy or intracavernosal injection; 2) ED patients with severe penile curvature, shortening, and impaired penile rigidity; and 3) patients with no intention of maintaining nonsurgical options to treat ED. Patients with a penile curvature greater than 90° were excluded.¹⁵ The present study was approved by the ethics committee at the Second People’s Hospital of Nantong City, and written informed consent was obtained from all of the parents who participated in the study.