The use of betamethasone and hyaluronidase injections in the treatment of Peyronie's disease

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of local injectio ns of betamethasone, hyaluronidase and lidocaine in patients with Peyronie' s disease. Material and methods: A total of 112 men who had a palpable plaq ue at the penis and suffered from painful erection and bending of penis was treated with a total of 12 injections containing betamethasone, hyaluronid ase and lidocaine. Patients were classified into groups according to the du ration of the disease (<6 months, 6-12 months or >12 months) as well as the size of the plaque (<10 mm, 10-20 mm or >20 mm). Pretreatment evaluation o f patients and assessment of outcome were based on subjective criteria as w ell as measurement of the size of the plaque by means of ultrasound. Result s were correlated to patients' characteristics. Results: The overall respon se rate was 86%. Cure or improvement was noticed in 31% and 55% of patients respectively. Most of the patients (83%) had a duration of disease less th an 12 months. Painful erection, bending of penis and plaque were absent in 97%, 32% and 31% of patients, respectively, after treatment. No severe comp lications were observed. The effect of treatment was strongly related to th e duration of disease and the size of the plaque. Conclusions: The method i s safe, well tolerated by patients and characterized by a high response rat e in patients with a history of less than 12 months and a plaque not exceed ing 20 mm.