HSE figures show 13 men were fitted with bionic penises in Irish public hospitals last year

Patients who underwent surgery and were fitted with penile prostheses last year had been diagnosed with 'failure of genital response' or 'impotence of organic origin', according to the HSE. File picture: iStock

A total of 13 men were surgically fitted with bionic penises in public hospitals last year amid a rise in demand for the hydraulic appendages.

The devices, which are also known as penile prostheses, can be manually inflated to simulate an erection, allowing a male patient suffering from impotence to regain sexual function.