Xiaflex for Peyronie’s Disease

As of 2013, there is only one FDA approved intralesional therapy: Xiaflex (collagenase clostridium histolyticum) is a biological agent that a urologist injects directly into the plaque. The enzyme digests the abnormal collagen deposits in the plaque to decrease the abnormal force exerted on the penis. In the initial clinical studies men had an average 40% improvement in their curvature and reported improvements in their distress suffered from the disease. Side effects of this therapy are usually mild and included temporary pain, bruising and swelling. A few men in the clinical trials had a penile injury severe enough to need surgical correction, but very rarely. All of these men regained sexual function post surgery. Newer data has shown that when combining Xiaflex with Traction therapy, results are further improved to about 70-75% – more on that later. Xiaflex has truly revolutionized the treatment of Peyronies’s as we now have an effective, non-surgical therapy with excellent results. What is unique about this treatment is that it is a restorative treatment, one that is actually trying to melt down the plaque and return the penis to a healthier state. This is the only reasonable intralesional therapy to offer, and anyone still offering Verapamil injections is stuck in the stone age. As a Peyronie’s Disease Center of Excellence, here at the UPNT Center for Men’s Health we perform over 60% of all the Xiaflex injections in the entire DFW Metroplex, and serve as a national model in the treatment and education surrounding this condition.