Surgical treatment of veno-occlusive dysfunction: evaluation of short-term and long-term results.

The abnormal venous drainage of the penis is an important cause of erectile dysfunction. Until recently the best choice for treatment was the venous surgery. We studied 21 patients submitted to radical vein ligation due to venous leakage. Their age ranged from 27 to 69 years (mean 53 years). A total of 14 patients evaluated after a mean follow-up of 13 months showed a 64% success rate. At a mean follow-up of 25 months the success rate of the 21 patients operated on, decreased to 38%. Therefore, we concluded that in a long-term follow-up the results are not quite satisfactory, which brings us much concern about the efficacy of the operation.