What is Peyronie’s Disease

What is Peyronie’s Disease

A curved erection caused by Peyronie's disease may happen because of a problem in the way the body heals after an injury (a connective tissue disorder). When this happens, the body doesn't properly control how much scar tissue develops and too much builds up gradually. A bump of scar tissue forms under the skin of the penis. This bump is called a Peyronie's plaque. If the plaque forms on the top of the penis, it will make the erect penis curve up. If the plaque forms on one side of the penis, the erect penis will curve to that side.

Peyronie's disease is unlikely to go away on its own, and may get worse over time. In fact, there is good evidence to suggest that the earlier you treat the disease the better will be your treatment outcome. In most cases, men suffering from Peyronie’s disease will notice a lump on their penis and/or that their penis is curved when it is erect. In addition to the lump and the penile curvature, other concomitant signs of Peyronie’s disease are penile pain and the onset of erectile dysfunction as well as loss of erect penis length and girth. In certain cases, Peyronie’s disease is asymptomatic, and will go unnoticed.

The most common symptoms are:

● A palpable lump on the penis

● Penile curvature sometimes as severe as 90 degrees

● Painful erections

● Loss of erect penis length and girth

● Onset of erectile dysfunction

Whether any of the above symptoms are present, depends entirely on the size, shape and location of scar tissue plaque. Some patients with very large plaques might have no symptoms at all and others with very small ones might develop severe symptoms. Erectile curvature can vary greatly from man to man. You could have Peyronie's disease with a curve ranging anywhere from 15 degrees to more than 90 degrees.