Single dilation in primary inflatable penile prosthesis placement is associated with less corporal complications than sequential dilation

Abstract Introduction In primary implant patients without significant corporal fibrosis, penile implant surgical technique varies in implementation of either single dilation (SingD) or sequential dilation (SeqD). Vigorous debate exists regarding both methods, but there is no robust evidence supporting one technique over the other in the literature. Objective We compared the rates of intraoperative complications and postoperative outcomes from a large international database of inflatable penile prostheses (IPP) performed by expert implant surgeons to determine if there were any significant differences in rates between SingD and SeqD. Methods We analyzed IPP cases performed by international implanters from 2016-2021. All primary implant cases were included, while revision cases, salvage operations, and patients with evidence of corporal fibrosis were excluded. Intraoperative complications and postoperative noninfectious outcomes were assessed between the two groups. These included proximal/distal perforation and cylinder crossover. Results After exclusion based on aforementioned criteria, we identified 3045 patients who underwent IPP. After 1:1 propensity matching of both groups, we analyzed 572 patients who underwent SingD and 572 patients who underwent SeqD. Between the two groups, more men of non-Caucasian race underwent SingD vs SeqD (p<0.001). There was a significant difference in cylinder length in the SeqD group vs the SingD group (20cm ± 1.5 vs. 20 cm ±2 respectively, p=0.018). There were 8 (0.7%) intraoperative complications in total, 7 in the SeqD group and 1 in the SingD group (p=0.034). Of these intraoperative complications, 3 (37.5%) patients who underwent SeqD sustained a proximal perforation, 3 (37.5%) sustained distal crossover, and 1 (12.5%) sustained proximal crossover. 1 patient (12.5%) with intraoperative complication who underwent SingD sustained a proximal perforation. Postoperatively, 78 (82%) of complications were in the SeqD group and 17 (18%) in the SingD group (p<0.001). Of these postoperative complications, there were 15 patients with bleeding or hematoma, of which 14 were in the SeqD group vs 1 in the SingD group (p<0.001). Of the 35 patients who were noted to have device-related malfunction, 29 underwent SeqD and 6 underwent SingD (p<0.001). Postoperative complications were more related to technical error in the SeqD vs the SingD group (11 patients and 1 patient respectively, p<0.011). On multivariate analysis, prior radical prostatectomy was predictive of intraoperative complications (OR 4.59 with IQR 1.39-15.16, p=0.024), while larger cylinder size seemed to be protective (OR 0.66 with IQR 0.50-0.89, p=0.006). On multivariate analysis, SeqD was predictive of postoperative complications (5.16 with IQR 3.01-8.83, p<0.001), as was history of priapism (4.15 with IQR 1.30-13.29, p=0.017). Patients who undergo SeqD may be calibrated by the surgeon to have more complex corpora, which could explain higher complication rates. We identified 3045 patients who underwent IPP. Conclusions In our international multicenter assessment of primary IPPs without corporal fibrosis performed by expert surgeons, patients undergoing single dilation appear to have slight benefit in total cylinder length. Sequential dilation may confer greater risk of intraoperative and postoperative complications, including bleeding and hematoma. Single dilation is a safe technique for primary inflatable penile prosthesis. Disclosure Any of the authors act as a consultant, employee or shareholder of an industry for: Coloplast and Boston Scientific