We are no longer accepting cases regarding these products. Due to a terrible Supreme Court ruling, consumers injured by this product are no longer permitted to sue the manufacturers of this device. We wish we could help, but the Supreme Court has taken the rights of citizens away to protect the profits of medical device manufacturers. For more information, please read the following New York Times article entitled “Medical Device Ruling Redraws Lines on Lawsuits.“
Penile prosthesis operations are delicate surgeries that attempt to help men overcome erectile dysfunction. These implants come with many possible complications that may include infection or malfunction of the implant which can require painful reoperations. Author D. Droggin from the Department of Urology at University of Columbia, New York, worked on a study titled “Antibiotic Coating Reduces Penile Prosthesis Infection”, where the main goal was to determine how well a new antibiotic-coated penile prosthesis inhibits infection by reducing bacterial adhesion.
The study observed the medical records of three groups of patients who used three different types of penile implants. The first type of implant observed was the American Medical Systems (AMS) inflatable penile prosthesis, the second was the AMS antibiotic-coated prosthesis, and the third type was the AMS nonantibiotic-coated prosthesis. Droggin states “A total of 152 men aged from 27 to 79 years with erectile dysfunction underwent implantation of the AMS inflatable penile prosthesis. Fifty-eight patients received the antibiotic-coated prosthesis between July 2001 and November 2003, and 94 patients received the nonantibiotic-coated prosthesis between July 1990 and June 2001.”
Results from the study showed that most of the patients had reported that some degree of infection occurred. The infections were seen as soon as 1 day and up to 6 months after the operation. Surgery was required to correct the infections for 15 of the patients who used the prostheses not coated with antibiotics, and no infections were found with patients who used the antibiotic-coated prosthesis implants. The researchers and authors of this study conclude that antibiotic-coated prosthesis can inhibit the growth of bacteria on the prosthesis and reduce the risk of infections.
Unfortunately, many men use penile implants not coated with antibiotics, and are thus prone to infection. Infection and complications are risks accompanying all surgical procedures, but what is most important is that the manufacturers of the medical devices used make all patients and doctors aware of the rate at which these risks are associated with the implantation of their product. Sadly, this has not been the case with American Medical Systems and their penile prostheses, and many men have entered the surgery unaware of the rate at which reoperation is required and at which complications occur.
As a result of this, a number of men have chosen to file penile implant lawsuits.
Our Penile Prosthesis Lawsuit Information page is a great place to start if you have any questions about penile prostheses.