Perioperative outcomes of penile prosthesis implantation in Germany: results from the GRAND study

We aimed to assess the recommended annual hospital volume for inflatable penile prosthesis implantation (PPI) and to provide evidence on perioperative outcomes of semi-rigid and inflatable PPI in Germany. Using the GeRmAn Nationwide inpatient Data (GRAND) from 2005 to 2021, we analyzed 7,222 patients: 6,818 (94.4%) underwent inflatable and 404 (5.6%) semi-rigid PPI. Inflatable PPI was significantly associated with shorter length of hospital stay (difference of 2.2 days, 95% CI: 1.6–2.7, p < 0.001), lower odds of perioperative urinary tract infections (5.5% versus 9.2%; OR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.41–0.84, p = 0.003) and surgical wound infections (1% versus 2.5%; OR: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.22–0.88, p = 0.012) compared to semi-rigid PPI. Overall, 4,255 (62.4%) inflatable PPIs were undertaken in low-volume (< 20 PPI/year) and 2,563 (37.6%) in high-volume (≥ 20 PPI/year) centers. High-volume centers were associated with shorter hospital stay (difference of 1.4 days, 95% CI: 1.2–1.7, p < 0.001) compared to low-volume centers. Findings suggest inflatable PPI leads to shorter hospital stays and lower perioperative urinary tract and wound infection rates versus semi-rigid PPI; high-volume centers discharge patients earlier.

Nikolaos Pyrgidis, Gerald B. Schulz, Michael Chaloupka, Yannick Volz, Paulo L. Pfitzinger, Severin Rodler, Elena Berg, Philipp Weinhold, Friedrich Jokisch, Christian G. Stief, Armin J. Becker, Julian Marcon