Penile Prosthesis Implantation After Radical Prostatectomy in the United States.

[INTRODUCTION] The aim of this study was to describe national trends in the use of penile prosthesis implantation (PPI) after radical prostatectomy, median time to implantation postoperatively, and the predictors of implantation in the United States.

[METHODS] The MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Claims Database was used to identify men who underwent radical prostatectomy between January 2012 and December 2021. Included participants were analyzed for postoperative PPI. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the likelihood and factors associated with undergoing PPI.

[RESULTS] A total of 55,572 participants who had undergone radical prostatectomy were included (median age 60.0 years), 81% of whom had commercial insurance and 19% Medicare. The probability of undergoing PPI was 4.1% at 5 years. Overall, 1100 PPIs were observed with a median duration from radical prostatectomy to PPI of 22.9 months (IQR: 13.6-34.8). The strongest predictor of PPI was an erectile dysfunction diagnosis before radical prostatectomy (HR: 1.98; 95% CI: 1.74-2.25), followed by diabetes (HR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.18-1.57) and Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥ 4 (HR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.17-1.56). For those with erectile dysfunction preoperatively, the probability of undergoing PPI was 4.4% and 6.9% at 3 and 5 years, respectively.

[CONCLUSIONS] We found only 1 in 25 men undergoing radical prostatectomy undergo PPI with a median time to implantation of almost 2 years after radical prostatectomy. Improving awareness about PPI may improve overall utilization and quality of life in prostate cancer survivors.