13 men surgically fitted with bionic penises in public hospitals costing €450k

Darragh Mc Donagh

A total of 13 men were surgically fitted with bionic penises in public hospitals last year at an estimated cost of over €450,000 amid a sharp rise in demand for the hydraulic appendages.

The devices, which are also known as penile prostheses, can be manually inflated to simulate an erection, allowing a male patient suffering from impotence to regain sexual function.

The most common model is a three-piece inflatable penile prosthesis (3p-IPP), consisting of an abdominal reservoir and dual cylinders implanted in the penis, which can be inflated using a pump located in the scrotum.

The number of patients who underwent surgery to be fitted with the devices last year climbed by more than 60 per cent to 13, according to records released by the Health Service Executive (HSE) under the Freedom of Information Act.

The agency was unable to provide details relating to the cost of the treatment, but one private clinic in the UK charges patients €34,800, suggesting that the total amount spent on the procedures could exceed €450,000.

Patients who underwent surgery and were fitted with penile prostheses last year had been diagnosed with “failure of genital response” or “impotence of organic origin”, according to the HSE.

A study published by the Irish Medical Journal previously reported that 86 per cent of patients who underwent the treatment in Irish hospitals between 2008 and 2017 had said they were “satisfied” with the outcome.

However, a number of post-operative complications were reported by some patients, and 13 had to undergo at least one revision procedure due to device failure, erosion, or infection.

The causes of device failure reported by patients included kinking of tubing, disconnection of a tube from the abdominal reservoir, and migration of the reservoir within the body.

The research paper described the 3p-IPP device as the “gold standard” option. This is activated by squeezing and releasing a pump fitted in the patient’s scrotum, which moves fluid from a reservoir into the penis, creating an erection.

The patient can deflate an erection by pushing a release valve located above the squeezing bulb on the pump mechanism that has been implanted in the scrotum, as well as manually compressing the dual cylinders.

A spokesman for the HSE said the statistics cover only procedures carried out in public hospitals and do not include activity in private facilities.

“Penile prostheses [are] performed for a patient where clinically indicated by their treating clinician. Costs… are not centrally available,” he added.