Vascular reconstructive surgery is one of the main surgical treatment options that has been developed for erectile dysfunction.

What is the goal of the surgery, and who is it suitable for?

The vast majority of cases of erectile dysfunction are caused by lack of adequate bloodflow to the penis. Vascular reconstructive surgery attempts to address this by identifying blocked arteries that might be causing erection problems and surgically bypassing them.

With this method, a surgeon can transfer a healthy artery from a muscle in the belly to one in the penis. This can create a better path for blood to move around the blocked arteries and provide the levels of bloodflow required to achieve and maintain an erection.

This surgery is generally only suggested to men on the younger side who have erectile dysfunction due to an injury to the penis and/or the area around it.

Is it a good treatment for ED?

Unfortunately, vascular reconstructive surgery has very poor results over longer stretches of time. According to the best studies on the topic, only around ~5% of men improved after the treatment. The group that it was most successful for was young men with a single damaged blood vessel from an injury in the pelvic or genital region.

In addition to its poor success rate, it has all of the downsides that other surgical options have—it is costly and invasive. If you are searching for a noninvasive treatment option, consider shockwave therapy , which promotes new blood vessel growth throughout the penile tissue rather than trying to bypass a single blockage.

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