Coloplast Titan and Length

[dusty01]

I recently had the Coloplast Titan OTR implanted. My doctor strongly recommeded this unit over AMS products. My pre-surgery erect length with VED was about 5.5 in. That was roughly the same as the stretched flaccid length in the doctor's office. His guess was that I would end up with about 13.5-14 cm, or about 5.3 in. Having now had the implant I was surprised to find that I now measure only 4 inches in length. I know that the unit is only partially inflated, but since the Titan has fixed-length cylinders, am I correct is assuming that fully inflating the unit isn't likely to add any length? Is this as good as it's going to get? Has anyone with the Titan unit had a similar experience?

[knotreel]

I am beginning to wonder why so many doctors a "strongly" recomending one or the other brand, unless there is some size issued like needing a big girth and possibly longer that normal, like huge? I my case I was shown both and the differences were explaned. As far as your ultimate lenght, only time will tell, after the swelling goes down and you exercize the unit for about 6 months you will be close to the new normal. I'll bet you will be happy with the result.

[dusty01]

There were no special circumstances in my case that would have led to the selection of one brand over the other. This particular doctor has done thousands of these procedures and apparently has developed a preference for Coloplast based on rigidity, reliability, ease of use, etc. I suppose I could have chosen any device I wanted, but I left the decision up to the expert.

[rlm1818]

I was 6 3/8 with the VED pre-surgery. After surgery, and now too, I'm about 5 3/4 flaccid. Initially I was about 6 1/4 inflated after surgery. Now, which I think is the max I'll ever get, I'm 6 3/8, once in a while 6 1/2. There was a lot of glans engorgement with the VED. Much less at this point with the implant. So, net, I think I gained a fraction over the VED size. I'm 3 1/2 months post-op with a 22cm Titan OTR, no RTE's.

What size Titan did you get, and if you had RTE's, what length?

[dusty01]

I had only one brief conversation with the doctor immediately after the surgery, and I was in no shape to get any details. That will happen when I see him in a few weeks. In the meantime, I was hoping to get some feedback from guys who have the Titan to see if they experienced any increase in length over the course of their recovery. My fear is that because the Titan cylinders are fixed-length, I am not likely to see any significant increase over the current post-surgical length.

[danny1553]

Did your doctor tell you what implant size you were going to get prior to the surgery?
You described one of my greatest fears about this procedure. That's why I am going to ask for the LGX as I still would have a chance to regain the length.

[dusty01]

He did meaurements of flaccid and stretched length before and after a Caverject injection prior to a duplex sonogram to check blood flow. Based on these measurements, he estimated that the final post-implant length would in the the neighborhood of 13-14 cm, or roughly 5 - 5-1/2 inches. He was very clear, however, that the final measurements would be made in the operating room at the time of the implant, and that this measurement may or may not be consistent with the original estimate. I haven't yet had the opportunity to discuss the details with him, but it seems clear that original estimate was a bit optimistic.

By the way, I too was convinced that the LGX was the way to go, but I found it very hard to ignore the recommendations of a couple of very prominent doctors in this field, including my own. In fact, I ran across the following video in which a Dr. Paul Perito of Coral Gales, FL flatly stated that he would no longer implant any of his patients with an AMS device (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCI5WxTmNtA). While he made some very compelling arguments, his views are clearly not shared by many other experts. In the end, I suppose you have to pick through all of the conflicting information and hope for the best. Good luck!

[danny1553]

That is another thing I never could understand.
Why the actual implant length can be determined only during the surgery. What's so different between cut and uncut penis?
I could understand if the decision was about the pump or reservoir location. But penis is an external organ so I do not really understand why stretching before the surgery is not enough to know how long of the rods can fit inside. I am not blaming doctors for this statement, it is just no doctor so far was able to clearly explain why this is so.

One good thing in my case though that for measuring the implant length the doc MUST use the special stretching device. This step is mandatory in Canada while is not in US.

[rlm1818]

Dusty --

I'd say its probably too early to make any definitive conclusions in your case. While I believe you are right that the Titan cylinders don't stretch lengthwise, it is definitely true in my case, and I believe generally, that when the cylinders are not inflated they collapse a bit into themselves. I was able to feel that right after surgery, and I can definitely feel it now. It took me close to 3 months post surgery for my body to be able to tolerate full inflation to the max (as hard as I can squeeze the pump). As you inflate, the cylinders straighten out and assume their full length. Until that happens for you, you won't know where you stand size wise. I think I was somewhat aggressively sized (22cm Titan, vs measured cavernosa of "closer to 21 cm"), and it took that 3 months to stretch out to accomodate that extra fraction of a cm.

Also, I understand that the size of the installed unit does not correlate precisely with the size of the visible erect penis. The hidden (proximal) penis size varies individual to individual, as does the visible portion. That said, just about everyone I have read about with a 22cm Titan has ended up about 6 1/2 inches visible erect (with measurement pressed hard to the pubic bone) give or take a little. Once you know the size of your Titan, that might also be an indicator, albeit not a perfect one.

[dusty01]

I also was confused about the operating room measurements until I forced myself to watch a video of an actual procedure. As I followed it, once the incision is made in the base of the penis and the corpus cavernosa are dilated, the surgeon inserts a measuring device into of the penis in both directions from the incision; outward toward the tip and inward toward the base. These measurements are then added together to determine the appropriate total length of the prothesis. So the final measurement is based on the internal dimensions, not an estimate made from the external dimensions. The stretch test, either with or without a traction device, is used only as an estimate to give the patient some idea of what to expect.