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What are we missing with fungal infection? - preventive role of surgical hoods in inflatable penile prosthesis surgery: a case report and literature review

International Journal of Impotence Research (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Fungal infections after inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) surgery are uncommon but clinically significant due to their association with prosthesis loss and reoperation. While antifungal prophylaxis has been proposed as a preventive strategy, supporting evidence remains limited and inconsistent. At our institution, perioperative antifungal agents have never been part of the IPP protocol. Among 1772 cases performed without antifungal use, we encountered a single fungal infection caused by Meyerozyma guilliermondii, which matched the operating surgeon’s otitis externa isolate. Following this event, we implemented routine use of surgical hoods that fully cover the ears and scalp for all scrubbed personnel. Since then, over 1535 IPP procedures have been performed without a single fungal infection. Based on this experience and a review of relevant literature, we propose that surgical hoods that fully cover the ears and scalp may offer a simple, cost-effective, and underutilized means of reducing fungal contamination during urologic prosthetic surgery.

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Acknowledgements

The authors declare no conflicts of interest and no financial support related to this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Jiwoong Yu

  2. Sewum Prosthetic Urology Center of Excellence, Seoul, South Korea

    Sung Hun Park

Authors
  1. Jiwoong Yu
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  2. Sung Hun Park
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Contributions

Jiwoong Yu contributed to the literature review and manuscript drafting. Sung Hun Park collected clinical data, supervised the project, provided critical revisions, and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sung Hun Park.

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Ethics

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Samsung Medical Center (file number: 2025-07-065-001). Written informed consent was obtained from the relevant patients following direct explanation by the investigators.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Yu, J., Park, S.H. What are we missing with fungal infection? - preventive role of surgical hoods in inflatable penile prosthesis surgery: a case report and literature review. Int J Impot Res (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-025-01193-5

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