The penile clamp: medieval pain or makeshift gain?

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: A significant number of men are affected by post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence. If symptoms persist after conservative measures fail men are left with three choices: additional surgery, drainage or absorbent devices, or a penile compression device. Our center encountered a number of men for whom additional surgery was too dangerous and for whom drainage or absorbent devices were too cumbersome. Our objective was to investigate the level of symptomatic improvement and ease of utility of a penile compression device (Dribblestop™, Rennich Industries, Ltd., Calgary, Canada) in this population.

Patients and methods: Patients who were prescribed the penile compression device across 10 New Zealand Centers were contacted to complete an Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7) regarding symptomatic improvement before and after the use of the compression device. The data were then analyzed for improvement scores pre and post intervention.

Results: Eighteen men were contacted across 10 New Zealand centers. There was an 89% response rate for interview. The average pre-intervention IIQ-7 score was 67.3 out of 100. The average post-intervention IIQ-7 score was 26.8 out of 100. The reduction in average symptomatic score was 40.5 (P < 0.05). The interviewees found the device easy to use, felt more confident wearing the device, and had increased levels of physical activity with device in situ.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that men who used the penile compression device reduced their Incontinence Impact Questionnaire scores significantly. Further research into the side effect profile of the device is needed as its utility may be under appreciated.

Keywords: alternative therapy; male incontinence; penile clamp; post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence.