Penile revascularization surgery is a delicate microsurgical operation in which an artery from the abdominal wall is connected to a penile artery to bypass a blockage that prevents adequate blood flow. It is usually limited to a small group of patients, mostly young men with a localised arterial blockage after pelvic or perineal injury, and its aim is to restore natural erections by improving blood flow without relying on medication or implants.
The operation is performed under general anaesthesia after detailed vascular imaging locates the blockage. The inferior epigastric artery is freed from the abdominal wall through an incision, passed to the base of the penis and joined to the dorsal artery or vein with extremely fine sutures under the operating microscope.
Surgery takes several hours and a hospital stay of a few days is usual; intercourse and strenuous effort are then avoided for several weeks as the surgeon advises. The result usually becomes clear several months after surgery, once the vascular connection has healed and erections are reassessed.
The final cost is set after a medical consultant reviews your case and photos.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zülfü Sertkaya is an Istanbul urologist who focuses on andrology. He graduated from Gazi University Faculty of Medicine in 2008, completed his urology residency at Haydarpaşa Numune Training and Research Hospital in 2014, and holds the FEBU title (2017). He worked at state, university and private hospitals, including Memorial Diyarbakır and Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital. Since 2022 he has run his own clinic in Zeytinburnu, focusing on penile prosthesis, Peyronie's disease, premature ejaculation and male infertility.
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In carefully selected men it may restore natural erections without medicine, injections or an implant, because it treats the poor blood supply itself.
Younger non-smoking men with a localised arterial blockage after injury, without generalised vascular disease such as diabetes or widespread atherosclerosis, and without significant venous leak.
Detailed tests including Doppler ultrasound and vascular imaging are done, and stopping smoking is required. Never stop any medicine, such as blood thinners, on your own; only the doctor decides whether and when.
An artery is released from the abdominal wall through an incision, tunnelled to the base of the penis and sewn to a penile artery under the microscope with very fine stitches.
There is no pain during surgery under general anaesthesia; afterwards pain is felt at the incisions and is controlled with painkillers.
Most men return to light activities within about two weeks; pressure on the base of the penis and intercourse are avoided until the surgeon allows, to protect the connection.
Results take months to show and may last in suitable patients, but the connection can narrow over time, so follow-up is needed.
Blockage of the connection, glans congestion from excess blood flow, altered sensation or slight shortening, bleeding and infection, plus anaesthetic risks. No result can be guaranteed.
Tablets, intracavernosal injections, shockwave therapy in selected cases, and penile prosthesis implantation; many men are treated with these because the criteria for vascular surgery are strict.
A stay of about ten days to two weeks is generally advised for follow-up and wound checks before flying; your doctor confirms when it is safe to travel.
