Diagnosis
An initial diagnosis of penile fracture is often from a description of how the injury occurred. If the circumstances and appearance are what would be expected from a penile fracture, it probably is one. However, further exploration is generally necessary to determine the location and extent of the injury. It is important, for example, for doctors to determine whether the urethra has been injured. That could require surgical repair.
Either ultrasound or MRI can be used to map out an injury to the penis that is thought to be a penile fracture. These techniques can be used to detect whether the urethra has been torn or damaged. They can also be used to identify other concerns such as injury to the arteries and veins of the penis.
Treatment
Immediate surgical repair is the standard treatment for penile fracture. A 2016 meta-analysis found that men who had surgery after a fracture were significantly less likely to have long-term problems than those whose fractures were managed more conservatively. There is less of a consensus about whether surgery needs to happen immediately or if it can be delayed up to 24 hours.
Surgery recovery time varies significantly, depending on the type of fracture and the specific surgical procedure. Men may be in the hospital for anywhere between one day and three weeks.
Fortunately, only a small fraction of men with penile fractures experience significant complications after surgery. The 2016 meta-analysis, which included 58 studies of more than 3,000 patients, found that fewer than 2 percent of men who had surgery for penile fracture experienced long-term erectile dysfunction. In addition, less than 3 percent experienced permanent curvature of the penis. Those numbers were significantly higher (22 and 13 percent respectively) for men whose penile fractures were managed more conservatively.
