Dr. Mohit Khera, a leading urologist, warned that many men with Peyronie’s disease were suffering in silence.
Millions of American men are “suffering in silence” with deformed penises, a leading urologist has warned.
Dr. Mohit Khera, of Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, said that one in 10 American men has Peyronie’s disease, a disorder in which scar tissue, called plaque, forms under the skin of the penis.
It is usually caused by repeated micro-injuries during sexual intercourse, masturbation, or exercise, and causes the person’s genitals to curve to varying degrees. Patients usually cannot recall a specific trauma to the penis.
Dr. Khera warned that most men don’t seek help due to stigma and shame, even though the condition is highly treatable if caught early.
Dr Khera told The Peter Attia Drive Podcast: ‘Seven to nine percent of men in the US have Peyronie’s disease.
‘I call this population the population that suffers in silence. They never talk about it. In fact, studies show that they are very quiet and never seek attention.
“The problem with this is that it has a significant impact on your quality of life.”
He added: ‘Patients who have the disease actually suffer from depression. They feel as if there was a disfigurement.
He said there is treatment for the condition, including injections and surgery.
When a man has an erection, the two columns of spongy tissue on either side of the penis expand and fill with blood.
This usually leads to a straight or nearly straight erection.
But in cases where the penis has been injured, such as through sex or vigorous masturbation, the healing process may have caused plaque to form in the fibrous covering that surrounds the columns.
This causes the penis to begin to bend at angles of up to 180 degrees when it is erect or flaccid.
There is some disagreement about how many men have Peyronie’s disease.
The National Institutes of Health suggests it’s about one in every hundred men, which equates to about 1.6 million American men.
but a 2011 study from RTI Health Solutions involving 11,400 men who were surveyed about their erections put the figure at 13 percent.
Dr. Khera said that when someone sustains a penile injury, it’s important to visit the hospital right away to help avoid problems like Peyronie’s disease.
The disease has two phases, says Dr. Khera.
During the active phase, which can last up to a year, scar tissue is still forming and the penis gradually becomes more curved. Men can also experience pain.
At this point, there is little point in doing the treatment because the penis will continue to curve and more will be needed.
But in the passive phase, which follows, the penis stops curving and there is no change. The main one can also disappear.
Men who have Peyronie’s disease are also more likely to be depressed and have erectile dysfunction because they see themselves as “disfigured.”
Dr Khera said: ‘There is an active phase for 12 months and in those 12 months it is the 15, 40 and 45 rule.
‘Of all men, 15 per cent will just get better. Forty percent will stay the same. And 45 percent of patients will get worse.
“That’s why you have to tell the patients, look, I’m not going to operate on you because if I operate on you and you are the 45 percent who get worse, you’re going to have to operate again.”
Doctors can treat the condition by injecting an enzyme called collagenase into the plaque, which can break it up and help straighten the penis.
Patients may also receive surgery, where stitches are placed on the opposite side of the penis from the plate or the plate is cut away.
An available off-label treatment is also traction devices, such as RestoreX, which are typically used to enlarge the penis, although they can also help straighten it.
A 2021 study published in the sexual medicine journal found that 27 percent of men with the condition had clinical depression. He revealed that men who were not in a relationship were particularly at risk.
Another study from the same year published in the Men’s Health Magazine found that men who had the condition were more likely to have depression and anxiety.
Men with this condition may experience depression because they worry about sexual contact with other people.
They are also at higher risk of erectile dysfunction, as a result of concerns about reactions to their penis and whether they will be able to have sex with their partner.
