Finding the Right Surgeon Locally in California

[jwdetails]

Got on a last minute new consult appointment with Dr. Patel this afternoon due to a cancellation for who I was on the wait-list for till January.

Man I was blown away by how much he knows about implants and the way he talks makes it seem like he's seen it all.The appointment did not seem rushed at all and he spent quite a bit of time walking through common questions, expectations, recovery. I also had a laundry list of questions. Felt very well prepared for this next stage for my sex life after leaving the appointment. I've settled on AMS and hopeful for LGX model based on the artificial test they would do at surgery. Feeling excited and optimistic today!

I have an appointment in January with Dr Doyle at USC but wondering if I should cancel. I got a good gut feeling with Dr. Patel and he can get me scheduled for Late-January (About the time I would have my consult).

Do you guys think I'm making a decision I might regret if I don't seek out more surgeon opinions? I really like the idea of not driving too far and having a mid-career surgeon who will be around and accessible. Should i even talk to other local surgeons - Dr. J Mills??

I would still see Dr Doyle. Never heard of Mills.

Just curious, why LGX and not CX?

Agree - I would not rush into surgery until you've gotten some different opinions. I wish I had my 1st surgery with dr patel and did some more research. I think you're in great hands, but should confirm right surgeon for you, especially if means holding off for maybe a month or two. My only criticism which is the case with most big hospitals is the levels of nurse triage before you can get in contact with the doctor. I just started to specify that the doctor needs to see the message and that sped things up, otherwise would take 2-3 days for a response. Would be the case probably at USC with Dr Loh-doyle or Dr. Mills in UClA. Otherwise, I have absolutely no hesitations! Send me a message if you want to chat more or meet up to discuss my experience.

[pjt1958]

Dr. Patel!!! - Can't sing his praises any more than I already am. I've recommended almost a dozen people to him, implant has changed my life! Surgery was just as described, he was very available in the post-recovery period (despite being at a big practice). I also met with Dr. Loh Doyle, Dr Yafi, Dr. Mills, but chose Dr. Patel just on a gut feeling and the time he spent with me answering millions of questions. I don't think you can go wrong with any of those surgeons - they all know what they are doing and do it well.

[MACman1]

I want to second the recommendations: I have also consulted with several of the best surgeons here in SoCal. Jesse Mills at UCLA seemed like a stellar guy, and were it not for the drive from Palm Springs to LA/Santa Monica, I might have chosen him right off the bat. He was immediately reassuring that he'd be happy to do the implant (AMS) and that it'd be great. I then saw Darshan Patel - UC-San Diego, and finally Faysal Yafi - UC-Irvine. I agree with the guy who said that Darshan spent a great deal of time answering every question calming and authoritatively. Impressive customer service. And seemed like a good guy. I was already scheduled to see Faysal Yafi later that week (yeah, a lot of driving back and forth but Jesse Mills suggested I might want to uses him, in Irvine as opposed to LA!) and Dr. Yafi seemed competent, kind, good sense of humor and very confident that he could help me. He was the clearest about opting for the Coloplast Titan vs. the AMS. He too uses the old, classic pump instead of the new one, but for a single gay man, 70, he felt it was best to have the axial rigidity (of the Titan) necessary for anal insertion. He even gently suggested I might want to be a "top" (for obvious reasons, that has rarely been an option), so he encouraged me to enjoy the implant as much as possible. Girth will reportedly be enhanced as the unit breaks in, and his explanation for his less than 5% of floppy glans gave me the impression that he would focus his attention of the size of the implant, and ever-so-slightly increase what was possible, to compensate for any risk of "hypermobility" of the glans.

I am only just hearing guys talk about having difficulty orgasming. I'd like to hear from men who have/haven't noticed any problem with that. Masturbation is my only sexual release, and I don't want to go through all of this, and then not be able to orgasm. Unlike a lot of guys, I am not focused on being able to give my wife orgasms - since, I'm gay, ergo no wife, and in fact, no one. Single in my retirement years. ED played a huge role in that too. That's tough at my age, but then, there is always tomorrow, and I have every confidence in Dr. Yafi, or Mills, or Patel. All of them are the best of the best and all high-volume implanters. Wishing all of you good luck, and please let me know what you know about the questions I've raised. Any of these guys will do a superior job, I'd guess.

[thx1138]

I talked to Dr. Patel also; very favorable impression. The only thing; the way I remember it, he mentioned three times that I could expect to loose 1 cm. I asked about cycling and he suggested that may help; but I did not have the impression that
He clearly recommended cycling. Conversely; there is another post indicating an increase of 1 cm. With Dr Patel. Of the
Several posters regarding Dr. Patel; I do not recall any complaints of any kind. So I am not sure what to think of the Drs warning.

[ballhog47]

I talked to Dr. Patel also; very favorable impression. The only thing; the way I remember it, he mentioned three times that I could expect to loose 1 cm. I asked about cycling and he suggested that may help; but I did not have the impression that
He clearly recommended cycling. Conversely; there is another post indicating an increase of 1 cm. With Dr Patel. Of the
Several posters regarding Dr. Patel; I do not recall any complaints of any kind. So I am not sure what to think of the Drs warning.

Yes, he did make that clear that immediately after the surgery things may be shorter but with cycling and patience, typically 2-3 months from surgery, he was confident that I would gain back any losses. In fact, he was right on target. I think a lot of it has to do with aggressive sizing of the implant, which seems most of these high volume surgeons will do.