Lue procedure at Nuffield Health at St Bartholomew's Hospital

What happens during Lue procedure?

You'll be given either a general or spinal anaesthetic.

Your consultant urologist will simulate an artificial erection during the surgery to confirm the degree and location of the deformity. To correct the deformity, your consultant will incise into the scarred area and place a graft over this. This is most commonly a synthetic graft, of which there are many types. The surgeon will discuss this with you.

In some cases, circumcision may also be performed at the same time to improve the outcome of the procedure.

The procedure itself takes approximately 2-3 hours, depending on the severity of the curvature.

Recovery from Lue procedure

You may experience discomfort for a few days after the procedure - painkillers will be given to you to take home. Dissolvable stitches are normally used at skin level and do not require removal.

A catheter may need to be inserted into the bladder for 24 hours after the operation, to prevent any problems with passing urine. Once the catheter has been removed and you are passing urine normally, you will be able to go home.

The average hospital stay is 1 day. We suggest that you have someone drive you home if you are going a fair distance.

We would advise that you have daily showers to clean the wounds and you should avoid using soap directly on the actual wound.

Try and elevate your penis with padding or gauze to help alleviate swelling and bruising. You should abstain from sexual penetrative intercourse for six weeks Having normal erections during this time is normal and advised.

Every person is different with regards to healing, but you may find it can take up to two weeks for swelling and bruising to settle. The sutures can take approximately 10-14 days to dissolve and any wound issues will be picked up by the team on return for your follow-up.

When will I notice results?

Most men with normal erections will notice results straight away. Most men will be given some tablets to enhance erections, which help to stretch the graft during the healing process.

Risks of Lue procedure

Every surgical procedure carries some degree of risk. Lue procedure has several potential risks, some more common than others.

More common risks include:

• shortening of the penis (less so with the Lue procedure as compared with the Nesbit’s procedure. Shortening has also already occurred, prior to surgery, due to the scarring from the Peyronie's Disease)
• dissatisfaction with cosmetic or functional result
• temporary swelling or bruising of the penis and scrotum lasting up to two weeks.

Less common risks include:

• no guarantee that the bend will be completely corrected
• future recurrence of the condition
• bleeding or infection
• impotence or difficulty maintaining erections.

Your consultant will discuss all these risks with you during your consultation.