UroToday.com – Erectile dysfunction is the most commonly recognized side effect of radical prostatectomy (RP) for prostate cancer (CaP). However, post-surgery penile length shortening (PLS) is known to occur in up to three-fourths of men. The impact of PLS has not previously been assessed.

The mechanism causing PLS is not known, but may be related to anatomic changes or fibrosis and scaring in the retropubic space. Studies suggest that men are more concerned with penile length than women, and that men desiring penile lengthening actually have normal penile length. The goal of this study that appears in the more…

In an advance that could one day enable surgeons to reconstruct and restore function to damaged or diseased penile tissue in humans, researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine have used tissue engineering techniques to completely replace penile erectile tissue in animals.

In the online early edition (Nov. 9-13) of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers report success using cells from rabbits to grow replacement penile erectile tissue for the animals in the laboratory. After implantation with the replacement tissue, the rabbits had normal sexual function and produced offspring. This is the most complete replacement of functional penile erectile tissue reported to date.
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