Iontophoresis Peyronie's Treatment
Iontophoresis Peyronie's treatment is not a treatment as such. Iontophoresis is a painless, non-invasive procedure, used to inject medications to treat Peyronie's disease.
Iontophoresis is also known as electromotive drug administration (EMDA) or transdermal electromotive administration (TEA). You may sometimes see it written (incorrectly) as Lontophoresis.
What Is Iontophoresis?
Iontophoresis is an injection without a needle. It is an injection technique where small electric charge is used to deliver the medicine through the skin, to the penis plaque in the case of men with Peyronie's disease.
How Does Iontophoresis Work For Peyronie's Disease?
Iontophoresis Peyronie's treatment involves the use of mild electric current to drive medication (e.g. topical Verapamil and / or Dexamethasone) deep into the tissues of the affected area of the penis (the plaque).
Iontophoresis may help the medication to penetrate the skin to the plaque area and stimulate the healing process.
There is no established protocol for Iontophoresis treatment of Peyronie's disease but it usually involves 2 to 4 twenty-minute sessions per week, for 6 weeks to up to 3 months.
What Are The Benefits Of
Iontophoresis Peyronie's Treatment?
Iontophoresis is non-invasive and painless procedure with limited side effects.
What Is Downside Of
The Iontophoresis Peyronie's Treatment?
As such there are no obvious downsides to the Iontophoresis technique; it is considered safe procedure with mild side effects.
What Are The Iontophoresis Side Effects?
Iontophoresis side effects are relatively mild but can include temporary skin redness where the electrodes are applied.
Is There Health Risk Involved?
Electromotive drug administration as such is safe procedure but the drugs used may have some side effects or interact with some other medication.
The Results Of Using
Iontophoresis For Peyronie's Disease
Some men have reported positive results but the benefits have shown to be inconsistent, meaning further research is required.
Iontophoresis has shown inconsistent benefits for reducing plaque size, penis curvature and penile pain. It has also shown inconsistent benefits for improving erectile function and sexual function but not so much on the Peyronie's plaque size.
Scientific Support For
Iontophoresis Peyronie's Treatment
There is insufficient evidence to support the use of Iontophoresis for the treatment of patients with Peyronie's disease.
The early researches were quite promising (though some lacking in control methods). Like this study, that evaluated the effects of electromotive drug administration of Verapamil and Dexamethasone on plaque size, penile deviation, pain, erectile function and capacity for vaginal penetration in men with Peyronie's disease, concluded:
“The transdermal electromotive administration of verapamil and dexamethasone is clinically safe and appears to be an effective treatment in patients with Peyronie's disease” (BJU Int. 2003
)
This study went as far as concluding:
“Iontophoresis of dexamethasone, lidocaine and verapamil may be regarded as first line nonsurgical treatment for Peyronie's disease” (J Urol. 2000
While this study concluded:
“Electromotive drug administration is a novel technique capable of safely achieving satisfactory results in selected patients with Peyronie's disease not only in terms of improvement of patient's symptoms but also due to the reduced need for penile surgery” (J Androl. 2000
These are all quite favorable conclusions and should make Iontophoresis interesting option in the fight against Peyronie's disease. Or so you would have thought?
Studies that are more recent are however not as promising and Aetna lists some of them:
“The authors concluded that transdermal iontophoresis is an effective treatment for pain control in early stages of Peyronie's disease. Efficacy in reducing penile curvature seems to be limited. They noted that controlled clinical trials are needed to obtain more relevant clinical effects” (2005)
“The authors concluded that although a greater percentage of patients treated with verapamil in their electromotive drug administration protocol had a measured decrease in curvature, the results were not statistically significant” (2007)
So as before, the conclusion is that Iontophoresis may work for some men with Peyronie's disease but not all.
My Personal Experience
And Opinion Of Iontophoresis Peyronie's Treatment
I have no personal experience of using Iontophoresis for my Peyronie's disease.
Would I consider it today? At first is seems an interesting options as less invasive procedure than injection therapy.
Unfortunately, topical Verapamil has not shown to be as effective for treating Peyronie's as Verapamil injections. Iontophoresis might though help the Verapamil gel to penetrate the skin to the plaque area better than if applying it topically (the results are currently inconclusive).
I would definitely discuss the use of Verapamil with my doctor and the pros and cons of different ways of applying it, i.e. injections, electromotive drug administration (Iontophoresis) or just applying it topically to the penis shaft.
I would also discuss the use of Verapamil in conjunction with other non-surgical treatment options (e.g. stretching devices) as I would like to fight my Peyronie's simultaneously from as many directions as possible.
Have you used Iontophoresis in your fight against the Peyronie's disease?
If so, please use the form below and leave your Comments, or relevant practical advice to other Peyronie's sufferers.
comment on this article