Artificial erection in diagnosis and treatment of impotence.

The use of artificial erection (AE) for the diagnosis and treatment of erectile failure was studied in 180 impotent males selected from a group of 440 men who underwent a complete multidisciplinary approach including nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT), arterial, neurologic, hormonal, and psychologic studies. Five groups were identified: (1) nonorganic (15.3%) impotence considered as a control group for AE normal values; (2) arterial (26.6%); (3) neurologic (12.2%); (4) arterial and neurologic (19.4%); and (5) a group of 47 remaining patients (26.1%) with abnormal NPT and normal arterial and neurologic studies who had the highest flow to obtain and maintain erection and were classified as "venous incompetence." Results of AE flows of patients of groups 2, 3, 4, and 5 are presented and discussed in the focus of erectile physiology, pathophysiology of erectile failure, and surgery. Patients of groups 2 and 4 with normal flows had a 26.6 per cent rate of improvement due to AE. Results and comments indicate that AE ranks as a major procedure in the diagnosis and treatment of impotence.