What We Treat

Using electric shock waves to treat erectile dysfunction

Forget Viagra or Cialis, there is a new shocking treatment for Erectile Dysfunction or ED.

Electric shock therapy sends tens of thousands of sound waves through a man’s penis to improve blood flow and enable erections. Although it sounds scary, patients experience a slightly uncomfortable pins-and-needles-like sensation, but it is otherwise painless.

The therapy is now available at the Novomed Centers at DHCC, at Novomed Integrative Medicine in Sunset Mall Jumeirah, and at the Novomed Centers in Marina Plaza next to Marina Mall in Dubai. Dr Shawket Alkhayal, a UK-trained urologist with 16 years’ experience in treating erectile dysfunction, explains that the sound wave pulses cause new blood vessels and nerve tissue to grow within the penis, enabling better blood flow and possibly improving tissue sensitivity.

This is an alternative option for men who have coronary artery disease and so should not take Viagra or Cialis, or for those who hate the side effects associated with them, such as headaches or when these pills do not work.

For those men, many with diabetes, shock wave therapy could be a total game-changer, physically and emotionally, says Dr Shawket, director of the Men’s Health Department at the Novomed Centers and one of the early adopters of this innovative, safe and non-painful method.

“Psychologically, ED is devastating to a man,” says Dr Shawket, who also uses stem cell injections in the penis and penile implants for advanced cases. The penile artery is one quarter of the size of the coronary arteries and hence gets blocked a few years earlier than the blood vessels that feed the heart.

Dr Shawket uses shock sound waves with his patients regularly now: “It can save marriages as it improves self-confidence in the bedroom and outside the bedroom. It can be a life-changer,” he says.

Dr Shawket says that men should first try to focus on decreasing sugar intake, exercising, avoiding junk food, lowering their stress with enough sleep, and rebalancing their hormones with testosterone therapy when needed, before they decide whether shocking their penis or injecting it with stem cells is right for them. Some patients are also given intravenous vitamins and minerals. Such lifestyle changes make the treatments even more effective.