Guest of "No Appointment", vascular surgeon Eric Allaire takes stock of erectile dysfunction, a taboo symptom that affects around 10% of men.

The specialist also details the mechanism behind the erection, breaks some stereotypes, and says that medicine has a solution in "95% of cases".  

It's a taboo, yet erectile dysfunction affects many more people than you might think.

"When you look at a crowd of 1,000 men, 100 do not have a sufficient erection to have a satisfactory sexual relationship", confirms at the microphone of Europe 1 Eric Allaire.

Guest of "Sans Rendez", this vascular surgeon, member of the National Academy of Surgery and also author of the "Guide to the impatient, erectile diseases", reviews the main causes, detection and solutions erectile dysfunction. 

>> Find all of Sans rendez-vous every day from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Europe 1 as well as in replay and podcast here

It is not a disease, but a symptom

The first point on which Eric Allaire presses is that an erectile dysfunction "is not a disease but a symptom". “It's like going to a doctor and saying 'my daughter is coughing', you have to understand why. And for that, you have to know the mechanism behind an erection first and foremost.” Imagine a balloon. You want to pump it up and make it tough for the game. You have a pump, the arteries, which bring blood to the cavernous bodies, two parallel cylinders that make up the bulk of the penis. Once the match is over, an emptying is done via the veins. But in some patients there are leaks and this emptying is permanent. So you blow up the ball, but it's never hard. "

As for the arrival of blood in the arteries, it is caused by desire, but can also be "automatic".

This is the origin of morning or night erections uncorrelated from sexual appetite.

And if this operation is "a mystery", admits the specialist, he argues that the idea behind this mechanism, innate in most men, is equivalent to "the maintenance of a machine".

"You have to deploy the whole system from time to time, it's a bit like training for an athlete."

>> READ -

 What is the average size of an erect penis?

The disappearance of morning erections, the warning sign

Moreover, the disappearance of these morning erections constitutes a warning signal. Because not content with being "the sign of the proper functioning of the erectile system, they are also probably proof of good health in general" in men, he argues. And if one should not panic when nothing happens one morning, Professor Eric Allaire estimates that after three months, a consultation becomes necessary. Depending on the case, the patient will then be offered a suitable solution. But the surgeon warns that "the key examination" is the Doppler ultrasound of the penis, which makes it possible to see the entry and exit of blood in the cavernous bodies and therefore to see if there are leaks.

The cause of an erectile disorder can also be rooted in a lack of testosterone.

And in this kind of case, taking viagra is not effective.

This is why the famous "little blue pill" has no effect in "30% of patients with erectile dysfunction". 

These disorders can appear at all ages

If the image of Épinal associates erectile dysfunction with old age, this is not the case, continues Eric Allaire.

"In my practice, my youngest patients are 18-20 years old, and you should know that some studies suggest that 1% to 4% of men under 25 do not have a sufficient erection to allow intercourse. . "

A symptom which stems "once in two" from venous leaks and which can be the first sign of much more serious diseases, since "an erection problem which is prolonged in a man of 30-40 years is the announcement of future health problems, such as myocardial infarction or stroke ".

>> READ ALSO -

 Are erection problems inevitable in men?

From drug treatment to surgery

To allow patients to live or regain a sexual life, several techniques exist.

First of all, cavernous injections: a drug which will dilate the arteries and which is injected directly into the penis.

But in the case of venous leaks, it is necessary to go through microsurgery.

"We ligate all the small veins in this very complicated space", summarizes the specialist.

In any case, Eric Allaire invites you to avoid drugs sold on unofficial websites, and reminds that "miracle cures do not work".

Wanting to be reassuring, he also affirms that in "95% of cases", medicine has a solution against erectile dysfunction.