Where the penis drains blood: a simple guide to the corpora cavernosa veins

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Selective venous ligation can reduce postoperative glans shrinkage and coldness and improve patient satisfaction, offering a reconstructive option alongside standard penile prosthesis techniques; the reported series showed larger glanular measurements and higher satisfaction in the ligation group, though patient numbers were small

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The Surgeon's View (Dr. Hsu): This work is the definitive "roadmap" for any surgeon attempting to treat veno-occlusive dysfunction. Before this detailed mapping, venous surgery had high failure rates because surgeons were missing the "backdoors"—the subtle, deep drainage systems like the cavernous or crural veins. This paper establishes that the drainage system is not just one pipe (the deep dorsal vein) but a complex, multi-tiered network. To cure a venous leak, you must understand and address every exit route, not just the obvious ones. The Anatomical/Scientific View: This research provides a crucial correction to standard medical textbooks. It details the intricate connections between the superficial and deep systems (the circumflex veins) and how the emissary veins pass through the tunica albuginea. It solidifies the "independent" vs. "dependent" drainage concepts, proving that the penile venous system is far more sophisticated than a simple drainpipe—it is a regulated vascular meshwork. The Patient's View: "It helps to understand that my condition isn't magic; it's plumbing. Seeing how many different veins can actually 'leak' explains why previous simple treatments might not have worked. It gives me confidence that if the surgeon knows this map, they can actually find and fix the specific leaks causing my problem."

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