Peyronie and the Eponymous Disease
François Gigot de la Peyronie was a surgeon born in 1678 in the southern French city of Montpellier. In 1743, he described a medical disorder characterized by the induration (hardening) of the corpora cavernosa of the penis, leading to curvature. This condition is now widely known in the realm of medicine as Peyronie’s disease.
Other than the disease itself, the name Peyronie is also associated with the scar tissue that causes penile bending, referred to as Peyronie’s plaque. Deviating from the more popular conception of the disease, there are also cases when this scar tissue causes indentations or divots instead of penile curvature.
Since a significant population of men is born with a benign condition known as congenital penile curvature, having a bent male organ is widely considered normal on certain levels. On the other hand, while the disease associated with Peyronie is hardly an issue for some, it also proves to be a source of discontent for many men as it tends to cause pain and difficulty when engaging in sexual intercourse. There are even extreme cases wherein penetration is simply impossible.
The disease named after Peyronie can affect males of any race or age, although it is most commonly observed in Caucasian men over 40 years old. Penile surgery, as performed by highly experienced urological surgeons, is used to correct the curvature described by Peyronie. However, due to the high risks and expenses associated with surgery and the expected penis shortening when the surgical scars start to heal, a growing number of doctors are now prescribing penis enhancement devices as alternative to remedy the condition first described by Peyronie.
