Doppler sonography of deep cavernosal artery of the penis: variation of peak systolic velocity according to sampling location.

To determine if there are significant variations in the peak systolic velocity of cavernosal arteries according to the Doppler sampling location, Doppler sonography was performed in 32 patients with erectile dysfunction and 15 control patients. Doppler spectral waveforms were obtained at proximal and distal locations in cavernosal artery. The peak systolic velocity of the cavernosal artery was 39.0 +/- 11.2 cm/sec in proximal portion and 20.0 +/- 5.6 cm/sec in distal portion in patients with erectile dysfunction. In control patients, the peak systolic velocity was 39.8 +/- 8.0 cm/sec in proximal portion and 21.3 +/- 5.5 cm/sec in distal portion. The peak systolic velocity of the cavernosal artery varies significantly according to the sampling location in patients with erectile dysfunction as well as in control patients. Our study demonstrated that the sampling location needs to be standardized in performing Doppler sonography of the cavernosal arteries, and we propose the proximal cavernosal artery where it angles posteriorly as the standardized sampling location.