Penile Erection During Transurethral Surgery

• Published in: Journal of andrology 2006-05, Vol.27 (3), p.376-380
• Main Authors: Baltogiannis, Dimitrios M, Charalabopoulos, Alexander K, Giannakopoulos, Xenophon K, Giannakis, Dimitrios J, Sofikitis, Nikolaos V, Charalabopoulos, Konstantinos A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; alpha‐adrenergic agonists; Anesthesia, General - adverse effects; Anesthesia, Spinal - adverse effects; Biological and medical sciences; Endoscopy; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Male; Male genital diseases; Mammalian male genital system; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Non tumoral diseases; Penile Erection - drug effects; phenylephrine; Phenylephrine - therapeutic use; priapism; Priapism - drug therapy; Priapism - etiology; Urologic Surgical Procedures, Male - adverse effects; Vertebrates: reproduction
• ISSN: 0196-3635; 1939-4640
• DOI: 10.2164/jandrol.05158

Intraoperative penile erection during endoscopic surgery, although an infrequent occurrence, is a troublesome complication and a challenge to the urologist. It is difficult to perform the procedure during penile erection, because various complications may occur. The etiology is unclear, and a number of pharmacological remedies have been discussed in the literature. Herein, we describe the treatment and outcomes for 3 patients with intraoperative penile erection and provide a brief review of the associated literature. Intraoperative penile erection is a rare event during transurethral procedures, with a frequency of approximately 0.1% in our institution. To our knowledge, no generally accepted protocols for the prevention or treatment of this phenomenon have been reported in the literature. We recommend intracorporeal injection of 250 μg of phenylephrine: detumescence occurred rapidly in all patients after a single injection. The mode of administration is simple, and no complications have been reported.