(This article is sponsored by Pollock Clinics.)

The vast majority of men over 40 don’t like to talk about impotence. When guys get together over a beer or to watch football or hockey, you’ll al­most never hear this come up.

But studies confirm, that in any crowd, it’s likely that half the men over 40 have experienced some form of erectile dysfunction, according to Dr. Neil Pollock, medical direc­tor and founder of Pollock Clinics in Vancouver and New Westminster.

“It’s a very common condition, that we want to destigmatize and help people feel comfortable talking about,” Dr. Pollock explains. “There are studies showing that people with a healthier and happier sex life tend to live longer. We have effective treatment options to ensure that they and their partners don’t have to suf­fer in silence.”

Pollock Clinics is a brand people can trust, with 25 years of experience and performing more than 5,000 circumcisions and vasectomies each year. More than 1,000 doctors refer their patients to Pollock Clinics.

There are three forms of erectile dysfunction treatments available at the clinic. One approach involves injecting platelet-rich plasma (PRP), which is a virtually painless process to promote better blood flow to erect­ile tissue and enhance sensitivity.

Created from the patient’s own blood, PRP treatment is commonly used in orthopedics, plastic surgery, and sports medicine. Studies have shown that this penile injection contains several different growth factors that can stimulate the heal­ing of erectile tissue and is a safe and effective option for penile re­juvenation and improvement of erectile function.

The second modality, ED Shock­wave Therapy, also promotes re­generation of blood vessels in the penile shaft. That, like PRP, leads to longer and more satisfying erec­tions and it’s accomplished by dir­ecting painless energy waves into the shaft of the penis.

Thirdly, Pollock Clinics has a certi­fied sex therapist, Tom Foster, to deal with psychogenic issues that might be affecting a man’s sexual health. Foster provides strategies to get a patient’s mind working with him instead of against him in a sexual encounter.

One of the physicians, Dr. Roozbeh Ahmadi, is a family doctor who has a special interest in men’s sexual health. He’s trained at the Steinberg Urology Centre in Montreal for shockwave therapy and platelet rich plasma ther­apy for ED, with further education and learning from leaders in the field, in­cluding those at Men’s Health Boston.

He says there are many factors that can contribute to erectile dys­function, including high blood pres­sure, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, sleep apnea, and other conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Par­kinson’s disease.

“At Pollock Clinics, we practise regenerative, innovative treatment modalities to target the root cause of the problem and not simply treat the symptoms of erectile dysfunction,” Dr. Ahmadi emphasizes.

As an example, he points out that a pill like Viagra will only temporar­ily open up blood vessels. Moreover, medications sometimes have un­desirable side effects, including head­aches, nasal congestion, and visual changes that are difficult to tolerate.

ED Shockwave Therapy and PRP treatment, on the other hand, have been shown to improve the quality of erections by enhancing and in­creasing the blood flow to the erect­ile tissue, offering a longer lasting desired outcome.

He acknowledges that lifestyle fac­tors—such as smoking or obesity—can contribute to erectile dysfunc­tion. And he’s not shy about letting patients know the role that regular exercise and a healthy diet can play in overcoming this condition.

In addition he explains that if there are blood flow problems caus­ing impotence, this could be an indi­cation of other serious health prob­lems. This is not only of concern to men, but also their loved ones.

To illustrate his point, he dis­closes that the arteries bringing blood to the penis that cause erec­tions, are about two millimetres in diameter. The arteries that feed the heart muscle (coronary arteries), on the other hand, are about four milli­metres in diameter. So if the arteries in the penis are impaired, there’s a chance that the arteries to the heart could also require medical attention.

This is especially of concern if erectile dysfunction exists along­side risk factors for coronary ar­tery disease, such as elevated blood pressure, elevated cholesterol level, and diabetes.

“Those are all good enough reason for them to be seeing a cardiologist,” Dr. Ahmadi says.

Dr. Ahmadi and Dr. Pollock are proud of the role that their Shock Wave Therapy and PRP injections are having in advancing the treat­ment of erectile dysfunction.

Not coincidentally, Pollock Clinics has rewritten the script for other penile treatments and are the largest provider of circumcisions and No- Scalpel No -Needle Vasectomy procedures in the Lower Mainland and province.

In addition, Pollock Clinics per­forms penile frenulectomy and fre­nuplastomy procedures to alleviate pain created by a tight band of tissue on the underside of the penis.

For all these procedures, patients will be glad to know they do not need a doctor’s referral to receive treat­ment. And of course, everything dis­cussed is strictly confidential.

Dr. Pollock is perhaps best known, however, for inventing the Pollock Technique to perform virtu­ally painless circumcisions, without stitches, under local anaesthetic. It takes less than 10 minutes for adults and only 60 seconds for newborns.

This has given Dr. Pollock tremen­dous credibility and created demand for his expertise and lectures to phys­icians in England, Turkey, China, Rwanda, and the United States.

He has also organized and deliv­ered humanitarian medical treat­ment, performing circumcisions to reduce the transmission of HIV. In addition, he’s taught head surgeons in Africa and Haiti.

“Our goal is to continue helping men in the field of sexual medicine,” Dr. Pollock says. “At Pollock Clinics, we now have a keen interest as well, in assisting men who are struggling with erectile dysfunction.”

Contact the Pollock Clinics for a confidential, complimentary initial visit at 604-717-6200. Pollock Clinics are located at 1101–805 West Broadway in Vancouver at 304–625 Fifth Avenue in New Westminster. Visit the website at www.pollockclinics.com.