2 years after my implant surgery!!

[Toronto67]

I got my implant a bit more than 2 years ago, I hope my experience may be valuable information for some new members of this forum.

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer when I was 49 years old, due to my Gleason score my doctor recommended I did active surveillance but after two years it was determined the cancer was more aggressive than he initially thought and I decided to remove my prostate. The surgery took place in Toronto and was performed by Dr. Singal in 2018, recovery was OK but unfortunately, it left me suffering from severe incontinence and impotence. I started physio to deal with my incontinence about 4 months later and it got much better after 12 months, to the point where I use the thinnest pad from Depend, but I wasn't that lucky with my impotence, I tried pills and a vacuum for a whole year with no positive results, Dr. Singal suggested to try injections but that was something I was not interested in so I contacted Coloplast in Canada and asked them to send me a list with the doctors in Ontario who did implant surgeries, I did a lot of reach on line and with he help of my family doctor and my urologist I decided to book an appointment with Dr. Krakowsky, https://uofturology.ca/directory/facult ... sky-yonah/

My appointment took place in March 2019, I went well prepared with all my questions written on my computer and also took notes during my appointment, Dr. Krakowsky was very nice, he answered all my questions and did not mind that I was taking notes, after my initial consultation I wanted to move forward fast with the surgery but here in Canada things work a bit different than in the USA, waiting time was about 12 to 18 months due to the high volume; however, they said they may call me sooner in case a spot opened due to a cancellation, to my surprise they called me in June (3 months later) and my surgery took place on July 2019.

Cost of the surgery: In Ontario OHIP will cover 100% of the surgery as well as the cost of the manageable implant but as I opted for the 3 piece LGX I had to pay for the difference of the cost within the manageable and the 3 piece implant, about C$3,500 (USD$2,900)

I was implanted with a 21cm plus 4 cm of RTEs LGX 700, Dr. Krakowsky recomended to use this implant because it is very reliable and it will also expand in length and girth with use.

Recovery was not too bad, to avoid any complications I worked from home for the next 8 weeks and was on my bed, naked, for about 5 weeks after the surgery. My implant was activated in the 6th week, during the activation appointment the Dr. made very clear that I needed to give time to the implant, he said the implant would look and feel very different 12 months after the surgery.

I resumed sex as soon as I was activated, to be honest, I was very disappointed, the pain at the tip of my penis was really bad, it looks small and skinny and my wife's face was not the best.

Around the 8th week, I started taking very hot baths twice a day and pumped the implant as much as I could, the pain was bad but nothing that Advil could not deal with, after a while the pain started to go away and sex became more enjoyable again for me and my wife, around the 8th month my penis started to look to something closer to what I remembered.

Reaching orgasm during the first few months after the surgery was difficult, in fact, sometimes I could not have one at all but eventually, things went back to normal and I had no problems reaching a very strong and satisfying orgasm.

Unfortunately, my PSA started raising again and in January 2020 I got my first shot of Lupron and started 33 sessions of radiation, six months later I got my second shot of Lupron.

The radiation treatment wasn't too bad, I had a bit of problem with my stomach but nothing major, the Lupron, on the other hand, killed my sex drive.

Currently, I am off Lupron and my sex drive is good again, the implant is working very well and I am really enjoying it. I hope cancer stays away and no further treatment is needed in the future.

Very often I get asked how much length and girth I lost due to the implant, to be honest, I am very grateful I am still here and I have a penis that allows me to enjoy sex and intimacy with my wife, I think I may have lost an inch or so of length during the process and some girth too but the reality is that my old penis is gone, it will never come back so I am happy with what I have, maybe in few years when the implant needs to be replaced my Doctor may be able to fit me with a larger implant, but I do not lose sleep over this.

It has been a long journey, my main goal is to beat cancer and stay here a few more years, enjoy my kids, my family and all the activities I do. I am very happy with my implant and if you are in a similar situation that I was I would recommend you, first of all, do not waste time watching cancer grow, do the treatment that fits you best as soon as possible, in my case surgery was the best option, if I have to do it all over again the only thing I would do different would be to remove the prostate with all the nerves, yes I would take all out, get the implant right away and maybe I could have avoided having to go thru radiation and hormone treatment.

My last piece of advice, if you are very concerned about length and girth maybe you are not ready yet for an implant and you should consider other options like pills or injections, an implant is the last resource and once you go down this route there is no way back, this is it. But if you go ahead with the implant give it time, do not feel sad or depress if 6 or 8 weeks after surgery your penis looks smaller, in my case it took me about a year to reach a point where I am very satisfied with the results.

I wish you all good luck during this journey, remember your penis is a very important part of you but it does not define who you are.

[Leebert]

I'm only 9 days post op and thank you for sharing your journey with us that was very informative.

[theriem]

I got my implant a bit more than 2 years ago, I hope my experience may be valuable information for some new members of this forum.

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer when I was 49 years old, due to my Gleason score my doctor recommended I did active surveillance but after two years it was determined the cancer was more aggressive than he initially thought and I decided to remove my prostate. The surgery took place in Toronto and was performed by Dr. Singal in 2018, recovery was OK but unfortunately, it left me suffering from severe incontinence and impotence. I started physio to deal with my incontinence about 4 months later and it got much better after 12 months, to the point where I use the thinnest pad from Depend, but I wasn't that lucky with my impotence, I tried pills and a vacuum for a whole year with no positive results, Dr. Singal suggested to try injections but that was something I was not interested in so I contacted Coloplast in Canada and asked them to send me a list with the doctors in Ontario who did implant surgeries, I did a lot of reach on line and with he help of my family doctor and my urologist I decided to book an appointment with Dr. Krakowsky, https://uofturology.ca/directory/facult ... sky-yonah/

My appointment took place in March 2019, I went well prepared with all my questions written on my computer and also took notes during my appointment, Dr. Krakowsky was very nice, he answered all my questions and did not mind that I was taking notes, after my initial consultation I wanted to move forward fast with the surgery but here in Canada things work a bit different than in the USA, waiting time was about 12 to 18 months due to the high volume; however, they said they may call me sooner in case a spot opened due to a cancellation, to my surprise they called me in June (3 months later) and my surgery took place on July 2019.

Cost of the surgery: In Ontario OHIP will cover 100% of the surgery as well as the cost of the manageable implant but as I opted for the 3 piece LGX I had to pay for the difference of the cost within the manageable and the 3 piece implant, about C$3,500 (USD$2,900)

I was implanted with a 21cm plus 4 cm of RTEs LGX 700, Dr. Krakowsky recomended to use this implant because it is very reliable and it will also expand in length and girth with use.

Recovery was not too bad, to avoid any complications I worked from home for the next 8 weeks and was on my bed, naked, for about 5 weeks after the surgery. My implant was activated in the 6th week, during the activation appointment the Dr. made very clear that I needed to give time to the implant, he said the implant would look and feel very different 12 months after the surgery.

I resumed sex as soon as I was activated, to be honest, I was very disappointed, the pain at the tip of my penis was really bad, it looks small and skinny and my wife's face was not the best.

Around the 8th week, I started taking very hot baths twice a day and pumped the implant as much as I could, the pain was bad but nothing that Advil could not deal with, after a while the pain started to go away and sex became more enjoyable again for me and my wife, around the 8th month my penis started to look to something closer to what I remembered.

Reaching orgasm during the first few months after the surgery was difficult, in fact, sometimes I could not have one at all but eventually, things went back to normal and I had no problems reaching a very strong and satisfying orgasm.

Unfortunately, my PSA started raising again and in January 2020 I got my first shot of Lupron and started 33 sessions of radiation, six months later I got my second shot of Lupron.

The radiation treatment wasn't too bad, I had a bit of problem with my stomach but nothing major, the Lupron, on the other hand, killed my sex drive.

Currently, I am off Lupron and my sex drive is good again, the implant is working very well and I am really enjoying it. I hope cancer stays away and no further treatment is needed in the future.

Very often I get asked how much length and girth I lost due to the implant, to be honest, I am very grateful I am still here and I have a penis that allows me to enjoy sex and intimacy with my wife, I think I may have lost an inch or so of length during the process and some girth too but the reality is that my old penis is gone, it will never come back so I am happy with what I have, maybe in few years when the implant needs to be replaced my Doctor may be able to fit me with a larger implant, but I do not lose sleep over this.

It has been a long journey, my main goal is to beat cancer and stay here a few more years, enjoy my kids, my family and all the activities I do. I am very happy with my implant and if you are in a similar situation that I was I would recommend you, first of all, do not waste time watching cancer grow, do the treatment that fits you best as soon as possible, in my case surgery was the best option, if I have to do it all over again the only thing I would do different would be to remove the prostate with all the nerves, yes I would take all out, get the implant right away and maybe I could have avoided having to go thru radiation and hormone treatment.

My last piece of advice, if you are very concerned about length and girth maybe you are not ready yet for an implant and you should consider other options like pills or injections, an implant is the last resource and once you go down this route there is no way back, this is it. But if you go ahead with the implant give it time, do not feel sad or depress if 6 or 8 weeks after surgery your penis looks smaller, in my case it took me about a year to reach a point where I am very satisfied with the results.

I wish you all good luck during this journey, remember your penis is a very important part of you but it does not define who you are.

Thank you. I lost an inch (6weeks post op) and I'm desperately trying to get it back. I noticed I do get engorged when aroused and get my girth back

[Txagq8]

Toronto:

Thanks for posting that. You put things in to perspective for, I hope, a good many guys.

I hope and pray that you continue to beat the hell out of cancer and live a long, happy life. I hate cancer. I’m not fond of Covid but I REALLY hate cancer.

[AST2123]

Thanks Toronto for sharing your story.
I went a similar path, and had my RP when I was 47. My prostate cancer was contained but my uro said it gleason score was has high, and I had to do the surgery as soon as possible.
I agree with you that, with the implant as an option, the surgeon should just do his best to get rid of all the lymph nodes and nerves that may be vulnerable to cancer in the future. The probability of getting an erection back 1 or 2 years of surgery is too low, even with the nerve-sparing technique.
If I am back in time, I would have an implant only 4 months after my prostate removal. I had terrible 4 years till I got the implant.

[Masonjames]

I got my implant a bit more than 2 years ago, I hope my experience may be valuable information for some new members of this forum.

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer when I was 49 years old, due to my Gleason score my doctor recommended I did active surveillance but after two years it was determined the cancer was more aggressive than he initially thought and I decided to remove my prostate. The surgery took place in Toronto and was performed by Dr. Singal in 2018, recovery was OK but unfortunately, it left me suffering from severe incontinence and impotence. I started physio to deal with my incontinence about 4 months later and it got much better after 12 months, to the point where I use the thinnest pad from Depend, but I wasn't that lucky with my impotence, I tried pills and a vacuum for a whole year with no positive results, Dr. Singal suggested to try injections but that was something I was not interested in so I contacted Coloplast in Canada and asked them to send me a list with the doctors in Ontario who did implant surgeries, I did a lot of reach on line and with he help of my family doctor and my urologist I decided to book an appointment with Dr. Krakowsky, https://uofturology.ca/directory/facult ... sky-yonah/

My appointment took place in March 2019, I went well prepared with all my questions written on my computer and also took notes during my appointment, Dr. Krakowsky was very nice, he answered all my questions and did not mind that I was taking notes, after my initial consultation I wanted to move forward fast with the surgery but here in Canada things work a bit different than in the USA, waiting time was about 12 to 18 months due to the high volume; however, they said they may call me sooner in case a spot opened due to a cancellation, to my surprise they called me in June (3 months later) and my surgery took place on July 2019.

Cost of the surgery: In Ontario OHIP will cover 100% of the surgery as well as the cost of the manageable implant but as I opted for the 3 piece LGX I had to pay for the difference of the cost within the manageable and the 3 piece implant, about C$3,500 (USD$2,900)

I was implanted with a 21cm plus 4 cm of RTEs LGX 700, Dr. Krakowsky recomended to use this implant because it is very reliable and it will also expand in length and girth with use.

Recovery was not too bad, to avoid any complications I worked from home for the next 8 weeks and was on my bed, naked, for about 5 weeks after the surgery. My implant was activated in the 6th week, during the activation appointment the Dr. made very clear that I needed to give time to the implant, he said the implant would look and feel very different 12 months after the surgery.

I resumed sex as soon as I was activated, to be honest, I was very disappointed, the pain at the tip of my penis was really bad, it looks small and skinny and my wife's face was not the best.

Around the 8th week, I started taking very hot baths twice a day and pumped the implant as much as I could, the pain was bad but nothing that Advil could not deal with, after a while the pain started to go away and sex became more enjoyable again for me and my wife, around the 8th month my penis started to look to something closer to what I remembered.

Reaching orgasm during the first few months after the surgery was difficult, in fact, sometimes I could not have one at all but eventually, things went back to normal and I had no problems reaching a very strong and satisfying orgasm.

Unfortunately, my PSA started raising again and in January 2020 I got my first shot of Lupron and started 33 sessions of radiation, six months later I got my second shot of Lupron.

The radiation treatment wasn't too bad, I had a bit of problem with my stomach but nothing major, the Lupron, on the other hand, killed my sex drive.

Currently, I am off Lupron and my sex drive is good again, the implant is working very well and I am really enjoying it. I hope cancer stays away and no further treatment is needed in the future.

Very often I get asked how much length and girth I lost due to the implant, to be honest, I am very grateful I am still here and I have a penis that allows me to enjoy sex and intimacy with my wife, I think I may have lost an inch or so of length during the process and some girth too but the reality is that my old penis is gone, it will never come back so I am happy with what I have, maybe in few years when the implant needs to be replaced my Doctor may be able to fit me with a larger implant, but I do not lose sleep over this.

It has been a long journey, my main goal is to beat cancer and stay here a few more years, enjoy my kids, my family and all the activities I do. I am very happy with my implant and if you are in a similar situation that I was I would recommend you, first of all, do not waste time watching cancer grow, do the treatment that fits you best as soon as possible, in my case surgery was the best option, if I have to do it all over again the only thing I would do different would be to remove the prostate with all the nerves, yes I would take all out, get the implant right away and maybe I could have avoided having to go thru radiation and hormone treatment.

My last piece of advice, if you are very concerned about length and girth maybe you are not ready yet for an implant and you should consider other options like pills or injections, an implant is the last resource and once you go down this route there is no way back, this is it. But if you go ahead with the implant give it time, do not feel sad or depress if 6 or 8 weeks after surgery your penis looks smaller, in my case it took me about a year to reach a point where I am very satisfied with the results.

I wish you all good luck during this journey, remember your penis is a very important part of you but it does not define who you are.

Congratulations on your second anniversary. I just celebrated my first year on September the 1th.