Patient decision aids (PDAs) have been utilised in a variety of clinical conditions. This has been associated with improved patient satisfaction with treatment decisions and the decision-making process. There has not been any research into determining the factors which are important to patients in implant surgery. 
The aim of this study was to determine which implant factors are important.

Three Andrology centres in London and Bristol regularly offering Boston and Coloplast malleable and inflatable penile implants participated in the study. This was a retrospective study of men who had attended an implant counselling clinic. Men were given a PDA. The PDA consisted of 13 parameters which men were asked to score out of 10 in terms of level of importance; 10 was the highest importance. They were also asked to note the 3 most important parameters.

20 men returned completed forms. All the parameters except number of component parts received a median score above 5. The highest median scores were received for implant rigidity (10), ease of use (9), life expectancy of implant (8.5) and length of penis with implant in situ (8.5). Only 15 patients ranked their top 3 parameters. The most frequent parameters reported in the top 3 parameters were implant rigidity (86%), length with implant in situ (47%) and girth with implant in situ (40%).

This is the first study to describe the use of PDAs in penile implant. The findings suggest that the most important factors for men are implant rigidity, penile size and ease of use. This is significant in how we counsel men and for the implant companies as they refine the implant design. However, this is a small and early study and further research is still required.

Its important to fully understand the factors which guide patient decision making about penile implants. This will better improve counselling and reduce potential post-operative regret.