Color Doppler appearance of penile cavernosal-spongiosal communications in patients with severe Peyronie's disease.

Our objective was to investigate the prevalence and Doppler characteristics of penile cavernosal-spongiosal communications (CSC) in patients with severe Peyronie's disease. These vessels are either anastomoses connecting the cavernosal arteries with the urethral arterial network or afferent vessels to the corpus spongiosum. Twenty patients with severe Peyronie's disease underwent penile color Doppler US after intracavernous injection of prostaglandin E(1). Study inclusion criteria were penile curvature or shortening which made intercourse difficult or impossible. The quality of erectile response was subjectively scored. The spectral characteristics of CSC were evaluated in comparison with waveform changes in cavernosal artery. There were 4 patients with normal erectile response, 10 with discrepancy in rigidity of the penile base and tip, 4 with veno-occlusive dysfunction and 2 with arteriogenic dysfunction. The CSC just proximal to the plaques had peak systolic velocity (PSV) significantly higher and resistance index (RI) significantly lower than the other CSC. The PSV in CSC near the plaques of patients with base-tip discrepancy and with veno-occlusive dysfunction were significantly higher than in the other patients. In patients with severe Peyronie's disease CSC near the plaques remain patent with low-resistance flow supporting the hypothesis that blood leakage can occur through these vessels.