Balloon angioplasty in the penile arteries is showing promise as a treatment for erectile dysfunction caused by obstructive lesions.
Researchers from Taiwan reported that penile-artery angioplasty is a safe and effective treatment for men with ED - producing "clinically durable improvement" in 60% of treated patients – at last week’s Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference in San Francisco.
Although atherosclerotic narrowing of penile arteries is a relatively uncommon cause of ED, it tends not to be easily treated with pharmacotherapy. So as balloon catheter sizes have shrunk, researchers have started looking at their potential for use in other sites.
