Ambicor 2-Piece Inflatable Penile Prosthesis: Who and How?

BACKGROUND

Currently the Ambicor is the only 2-piece inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) available in the United States. By eliminating the separate reservoir, this provides certain advantages for patient and surgeon. Nevertheless, it composes a small percentage of all IPPs implanted in the United States.

AIM

To detail the surgical technique for implantation, describe the ideal patient candidates best suited for the Ambicor, and discuss the most common and some rare complications with a review of the available published literature in combination with our clinical experience.

METHODS

A PubMed literature search was performed to obtain all peer-reviewed articles published in English specifically on the Ambicor 2-piece IPP. We also reviewed our clinical experience with the Ambicor during the past 2 decades.

RESULTS

The published data remain limited, because few articles on the Ambicor have been published in the past 10 years. Overall complication rates were 2.1% to 9.5%. Patient satisfaction rates were 75% to 96.4%, with similar partner satisfaction rates. Relative contraindications for implantation include patients with significant penile deformities, long narrow phalluses, or short phalluses.

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS

Despite the limited available published data with short follow-up periods, this review provides a comprehensive discussion on the technical aspects and relevant perioperative counseling recommended for Ambicor implantation.

CONCLUSION

The prosthetic urologist should offer the Ambicor 2-piece IPP to patients with erectile dysfunction whose non-surgical treatment has failed. Certain implanters might want to avoid the blind retropubic reservoir placement that occurs with 3-piece IPPs and might not be comfortable with an ectopic approach and therefore prefer using a 2-piece device. We believe the ideal Ambicor candidate is a patient with a current or future pelvic organ transplant, decreased manual dexterity, in need of complete phallic reconstruction, or with known extensive prior abdominopelvic surgery. Abdelsayed GA, Levine LA. Ambicor 2-Piece Inflatable Penile Prosthesis: Who and How? J Sex Med 2018;15:410-415.