How to Choose a Penile Implant Surgeon

A penile prosthesis is a permanent device placed inside the corpora cavernosa, and the result depends on the operating surgeon's technique and infection-control discipline as much as on the device brand. Most men have one practical way to compare surgeons: a structured consultation in which every answer can be checked. This guide gives the questions to ask, the evidence behind the most-asked one (surgeon volume), the red flags that should end a consultation, and the route to verify credentials without relying on anyone's website.

It is written for a patient who has already decided to consider an implant. For the procedures themselves, see the pages on the inflatable penile prosthesis and the malleable penile prosthesis, and for men whose erectile dysfunction coexists with curvature, Peyronie's disease reconstruction; for the device decision, see the comparison of inflatable and malleable implants.

The consultation checklist: 12 questions to ask

Bring this list to every consultation and write the answers down. A surgeon who is confident in the practice will answer each question with specifics. Use your browser's print function to take a copy with you.

1. ☐ Annual and lifetime implant volume. “How many penile implants did you place in the last 12 months, and over your career? How many were first-time (primary) implants and how many were revisions or replacements?” A useful answer is a pair of numbers, split by primary and revision, that the surgeon will confirm in writing. See the evidence below: higher volume is associated with fewer reoperations, but no published source defines a safe minimum.
2. ☐ Device brands used, and why. “Which implant platforms do you use, and which would you choose for me, inflatable or malleable, and why?” The answer should tie the choice to your anatomy, manual dexterity, prior pelvic surgery and priorities, not to a single default. A surgeon comfortable with both device types can give a more neutral recommendation.
3. ☐ Infection-reduction practices. “What is your protocol: antibiotic-coated device, pre-operative intravenous antibiotics, hair-removal method, ‘no-touch’ technique?” A 2019 review found that surgeon experience, a no-touch technique, pre-operative IV antibiotics, antibiotic-coated devices and clipper hair removal were associated with lower infection rates.⁴ The same review lists patient factors associated with higher risk, including smoking, revision surgery, nasal Staphylococcus aureus carriage and an HbA1c above 8.5; ask which of these you can modify before surgery.
4. ☐ Revision and complication rates. “What are your own infection, reoperation and mechanical-failure counts, over what follow-up period?” Ask for counts as well as percentages (“2 infections in 140 implants”), because a personal rate built on a small number of cases is statistically unstable. For context, the 2019 review reports infection of about 0.46% to 2.00% after primary implants and about 10.0% to 13.3% after revisions;⁴ a 2025 Medicare analysis found reoperation in 2.3% of men within 90 days and 6.3% within one year.²
5. ☐ Management of complications. “If I develop an infection, erosion or device malfunction, who treats me, where, and how? Is there a number I can call at any hour? What will a revision cost me?” Treatment of an infected device may involve removal, and approaches differ; the surgeon should be able to describe theirs without hesitation.
6. ☐ Who will be in the room. “Will you perform the entire operation? Will a resident, fellow or second surgeon perform any steps? Who is the anesthesia provider and the scrub team?” Trainee participation is common at academic centers; one high-volume academic center reported that it did not raise infection rates,⁴ but you are entitled to know and to consent.
7. ☐ Follow-up schedule. “Which visits are scheduled, when is an inflatable device first cycled, and when is sex cleared?” Surgeons differ on these dates; see the penile implant recovery timeline for the published ranges.
8. ☐ Total itemized cost. “Please give me a written estimate that separates the surgeon's fee, facility fee, anesthesia, device and follow-up care, and states what is billed if a revision is needed.” Cost bands for the procedure are on the penile implant cost page; compare any individual quote against them.
9. ☐ Insurance handling. “Do you participate in my plan? Will your office request prior authorization, and what documentation do you need? If the claim is denied, what is my exposure and what are the options?” Coverage depends on the plan and on a documented medical indication; get the answer in writing before scheduling.
10. ☐ Credentials. “Are you certified by the American Board of Urology? Which fellowship, if any, did you complete, and when?” Then look the surgeon up yourself; see how to verify urologist credentials.
11. ☐ Candidacy and alternatives. “Am I a good candidate? Which less invasive treatments are worth trying first, and what should I and should I not expect from the result?” See the comparison of ED treatments from pills to implant. An implant does not restore a natural erection; a surgeon who says otherwise is overselling.
12. ☐ Financial relationships. “Do you have any financial relationship with a device manufacturer, and does it influence which device you recommend?” Disclosure is a reasonable request and the answer should be given plainly.

What the evidence says about surgeon and hospital volume

Patients are most often told to look for a “high-volume” implanter. The published evidence supports that advice in direction, but not as a precise rule. The studies below are observational and mostly use administrative claims data, so they show association rather than cause, and they cannot fully account for differences in case mix.

Figures are as reported in the cited abstracts and papers; odds ratios and confidence intervals are in the sources.

Three points follow. First, the direction is consistent: patients of higher-volume implanters were less likely to need a reoperation, chiefly because of infection, in the largest studies. Second, the volume effect is not uniform: in the 2025 nationwide analysis the hospital-level difference reached statistical significance and the surgeon-level difference did not,³ which is one reason to ask about the whole operating team and facility rather than the surgeon alone. Third, the two largest surgeon-volume analyses define “high volume” as the top quartile of surgeons in their own data, which in both meant more than 31 implants per year.^1,2 That is a statistical grouping, not a safety threshold.

The same literature explains why the question matters. A 2019 review cites estimates that surgeons implanting no more than four inflatable devices a year perform about 75% of inflatable implant surgeries in the United States,⁴ and the 2017 editorial reports that in 2015 more than 75% of implants were placed by urologists doing fewer than five a year.⁶ In other words, many patients are offered surgery by a low-volume implanter, and asking the question is how you find out.

Why self-reported volume is a marketing claim

A surgeon's stated case volume is self-reported and, in a consultation, cannot be audited by the patient. It can also be defined in ways that flatter: “over 1,000 procedures” may include every urologic case, revisions, or the whole group practice. The 2017 editorial notes that manufacturers are reluctant to release surgeon-specific volume data, so independent verification is unlikely.⁶ Treat a volume figure as a claim to be tested:

• Ask for the definition. Implants only, or all penile surgery? This surgeon alone, or the group? Last 12 months, or lifetime?
• Ask for the split. Primary implants and revisions are different operations with different infection risks (the 2019 review reports roughly 0.46–2.00% after primary implants versus 10.0–13.3% after revisions⁴).
• Ask for it in writing, and ask where the operation will be performed, since the 2025 nationwide analysis found a clearer effect for hospital volume than for surgeon volume.³
• Be wary of vendor designations. Boston Scientific's physician locator lists an “AMS 700 Center of Excellence” designation whose published criteria are a minimum of 25 AMS 700 implants in one year, a practice website, use of a docuseries and a schedule of educational programs. None of the listed criteria is an outcome measure, and the same page states that the company does not verify or monitor the credentials or qualifications of listed physicians and that inclusion does not mean endorsement.⁷

Red flags

The following are editorial judgments based on the standards above, not findings from a study. Any one of them is reason to pause; several together are reason to leave.

Verify the credentials yourself

Three checks take about ten minutes and require no login. The full walk-through, including what each result field means, is in Urologist Credentials Explained.

1. American Board of Urology certification. Search the surgeon's name on the ABU's physician verification page, or on the American Board of Medical Specialties' Certification Matters site. Confirm that the status is active, not merely that a certificate was once issued.
2. Fellowship. There is no single registry. Ask for the program name, institution and years, then confirm on the program's own website or by contacting the program.
3. Sexual medicine society membership. Membership in the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) shows professional engagement in the field. It is not a measure of surgical skill, and it should not replace the first two checks.

Credentials establish a floor, not a ranking. A board-certified urologist with a fellowship can still be a low-volume implanter, and a high-volume implanter should still pass the checks above.

What this site does and does not do

The directory behind this site is not yet live and no surgeon is currently listed; nothing on this page is a recommendation of any individual. When listings open, every surgeon will have to meet at least one of the criteria in our credential standard, and that standard is a minimum rather than an endorsement. Use the checklist above with every surgeon you consult, including any we eventually list.

Sources

1. Onyeji IC, Sui W, Pagano MJ, et al. Impact of surgeon case volume on reoperation rates after inflatable penile prosthesis surgery. J Urol. 2017;197(1):223–229. PubMed 27545573
2. Andino JJ, Leelani N, Sato R, et al. Association between surgeon procedure volume and reoperation rates for penile prosthesis implantation. J Sex Med. 2025;22(5):916–923. PubMed 40173076
3. Nguyen V, Sato R, Loh-Doyle J, et al. A nationwide analysis of post-penile prosthesis infection: do hospital and surgeon volume matter? Urology. 2025. PubMed 40179988
4. Hebert KJ, Kohler TS. Penile prosthesis infection: myths and realities. World J Mens Health. 2019;37(3):276–287. PubMed 30929326 (full text via PubMed Central)
5. Van Renterghem K, De Bruyn H, Yebes A, et al. Early complications after penile prosthesis surgery: findings from the PHOENIX multicenter registry. Int J Impot Res. 2026. PubMed 40335744
6. Kovac JR. Centers of excellence for penile prosthetics are a novel concept that will likely prove difficult to implement. Transl Androl Urol. 2017;6(Suppl 5):S898–S899. tau.amegroups.org
7. Boston Scientific. EDCure physician locator and AMS 700 Center of Excellence criteria (including the listing disclaimers). edcure.com. edcure.com/us/en/find-a-specialist

Cost figures are ranges and editorial estimates unless a source above states otherwise. This article is educational and is not medical advice.