cryotherapy, erection problem, nerve damage?

[snoopy11111]

Hi Doctor,

I am 39 yrs old. I have 3 small brown spots on the right side of my penis about 1/3 inch from the base.  I had from about 3.5 years now and have not changed.  Recently I looked at some photos online and got very worry so I went to Dermatologist 2 days ago and he said was either warts or seborrheic keratosis.  He said lets treated with nitrogen. About one month ago I went to another doctor and she treated one of the spots with nitrogen it disappeared in a week without noticeable side effects.

2 days ago during the procedure I noticed there was some mild pain/stinging.  I search for Cryotherapy on the internet and found out that it can cause nerve damage to the area, pain, swelling, blister, etc. That evening I try to masturbate and I noticed that I have problem getting and maintaining an erection.  But I did ejaculate after about 5-7 minutes.  I noticed the erection was not hard and not as hard as before.  This really got me scared because I was thinking that the procedure might have damage the nerves on my penis.  I tried to masturbate this morning and this afternoon and with similar results.  Normally and on the day before the procedure I can masturbate many times and I would be able to maintain a hard erection.  

I went back to the dermatologist today and I told him about my erection problem and he said that he has never had any patients had nerve damage or erection problems in his 23 years of practice for this procedure even when there were blisters, cuts and bleeding and much bigger area.  I asked him if he has seen it in the medical literature and he said no!  .  He told me not to be concern and I would be fine and it might be anxiety.

Can Cryotherapy on the penis about 1/3 inch from the base cause nerve damage? Is this permanent or transient?
Have you seen this happen to your patients or heard of this happening?
Can it cause erection problems like I described?

I am So scared and please help!
Thank you so much!

[snoopy11111]

There is not a lot of information or complaints on Cryotherapy and sexual problem in treating genital warts.  I guess the chance is very low in getting this kind of problems because this procedure is very common.  But I can't seems to shake the anxiety!

[snoopy11111]

I didn't get any pain, swollen, burns, etc...There was mild pain/stinging sensation when the doctor sprayed on it.  I went to see dermatologist the next day and he think it's  superficial and I will be fine. I went to a urologist 4 days after and he said it was very superficial and I would get my normal erection back and the erection problem was due to anxiety.  I then went to see a STD expert because he does this procedure all the time and he said I didn't have nerve damage from what he saw. He told me to see psychological help. I am getting erection at night sometimes 2 to 3 times but I am still scared to masturbate or have sex. I hope that all these doctors are right and I will get my life back.  

[nervedamage666]

my 'Dr' said to me, 'trust me', its just cold, everything will be fine, next thing I got is 2 months swollen, impotent penis and end up with multiples pitting areas, I could not even masturbate, sometimes it itch, sometimes it burns, sometimes it pinch, sometimes its other sensations that I could not describe, my 'Dr' said that it was in my head... like a female 'Dr' would actually know how it feels, this destroyed my self confidence with intimate relationship, after 2 years I'm started to have my brain stability back. This event changed my life, now I trust no one, I feel way stronger and see things more clearly, see the good in life for it is very short and your little problem will be soon forgotten on this planet.

[snoopy11111]

I am still having anxiety about nerve damage. If I do not have swelling, blistering and ulceration in the area, does it mean that the liquid nitrogen did not get to or affect the nerve? I am having erections at night but I have not have sex or masturbated since because of the anxiety.  Thank you for your help!  

[snoopy11111]

Thank you so much for your help doctor.  I have one cycle i think it lasted a few seconds.  Hope everything turns out okay.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
I can understand your concern but chances of nerve damage due to cryotherapy are less likely. The commonest side effects of cryotherapy are skin irritation, swelling, blistering and ulceration. Other than that scarring of the area can occur but it depends on the number of freeze/thaw cycles used during cryotherapy and how large an area was treated.

Erection problem in your case seems to be psychological  because you were having regular erections earlier. It seems to be caused by the stress of having nerve damage during cryotherapy.

Rest assured and get the follow ups done from your dermatologist.

Hope that this information helps and hope that your daughter will get better soon.

Wishing her good health.

[snoopy11111]

Doctor please answer because I am having anxiety attacks over this :(