New Delhi, Sep 14 (IANS) Life would have been a smooth
journey for 52-year-old Zia-us-Salaam (name changed), had frustration
not seeped into his life. Victim of erectile dysfunction (impotence),
Haq was forced to take a divorce twice - leading to frustration and no
hope of a happy life.
A senior government employee, Haq's problem
- not being able to maintain an erection during sexual intercourse - is
not an uncommon one. A similar situation was faced by 28-year-old
Sumanjeet Sikdar, who was bit by a stray dog on his penis when he was
just six months old. The dog bit off most of his penis, which went on to
become a barrier as he gradually attained a marriageable age.
Urologists
in India said that erectile dysfunction is not a "new problem in
society", with around 50 percent men in India having the condition.
According
to experts, erectile dysfunction has a "perfect cure", but because men
do not feel comfortable in revealing their problems they face marital
breakups due to sexual complications.
After being dissatisfied
with their friends' advice for treatment, Haq and Sikdar finally went
to medical experts who offered them hope.
The two were asked to
undergo a penile implant surgery in which devices are placed inside the
penis to allow men with erectile dysfunction to get an erection.
While
Zia was ready to pay anything close to Rs.10 lakh to get his condition
cured and underwent the inflatable penile implant, Sircar underwent the
semi rigid penile implant surgery, which cost him less than the
inflatable implant but offered effective cure.
P.N. Dogra, head
of the urology department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS), said that penal implants are of two types - semi rigid and
inflatable.
"In the inflatable penile implant surgeries,
cylinders (placed inside the body) are used to replace the spongy tissue
inside the penis that fills with blood during an erection. These
implants come in a variety of diameters and lengths and range anything
from Rs.5 lakh to 8 lakh," Dogra told IANS, adding that such surgeries
are very popular in the West.
However, it is the semi-rigid or
non-inflatable implant which is more common in India. It costs around
Rs.1 lakh, excluding the surgical charge.
"Such implants are firm. They can be bent into different positions," Dogra told IANS.
Another thing about the implant surgery is that the partner is not able to make out about the implant.
Experts
classify impotency into psychological and physical. While psychological
impotency may be due to a man's fear that he will not be able to
perform sexually leading to performance anxiety, physical impotence is
due to the abnormalities of the penile arteries, veins, and smooth
muscle causing obstruction in the flow of blood into the penile erection
chambers preventing erection.
Dogra said though implants are a
solution, they should be resorted to only when other prescribed
medications like penis erection oil or viagra tablets are ineffective in
curing the dysfunction.
Zia, who got married for the third time
recently, told IANS that the satisfaction level during intercourse is
the "same as in natural intercourse".
Vineet Malhotra, senior
consultant urologist and andrologist at Delhi Nova Specialty Hospital,
Kalkaji, said: "Implants do not interfere with ejaculation, although
ejaculation and orgasm are not ensured. Implants neither increase nor
decrease sexual desire."
He said the non-inflatable implants and inflatable devices can last indefinitely.
The
urologist further said that the inability to consummate after marriage
was emerging as one of the reasons for couples to split in India.
"It
is important for men to understand the importance of such implants in
the era where women are no more willing to stick to a man with less
sexual consummation level," Malhotra told IANS.
Agreed Mayank Gupta, senior consultant, urology, at Sharda Hospital.
"People
in India need to understand that hiding the problems related to
erectile dysfunction can make their life dull and lead to family
tensions and, in the worst case, a divorce," Gupta told IANS.
He also said these implants are also useful when a woman wants to undergo sex change.
"In
the coming years, the use of the implant will certainly grow. Society
is changing and people want to lead a better and happy life and if
technology is lending a helping hand then everyone wants to use it and
why not?," Gupta said.
(Rupesh Dutta can be contacted on rupesh.d@ians.in)