First post: Girth loss & fluid leak/failure with Rigicon AX 22 cm (Undersized reservoir?)

[MackintoshHH]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here. English is not my native language, so please excuse any typos or strange phrasing. I’ve been a silent reader for a while and would really appreciate your insights.

I am facing a major issue with my Rigicon AX 22 cm inflatable penile implant and would like to know if anyone has experienced something similar.

Background & History:
• Pre-Op: Using TRIMIX / SKAT injections, I reached a maximum girth (circumference) of more than 18 cm (~7.1 inches).
• Post-Op: Fully inflated, I only reached 14 to 14.5 cm (~5.5 to 5.7 inches) of girth.

I discussed this huge loss in girth with an AI assistant, which brought up the theory that my surgeon might have installed an undersized reservoir that didn't hold enough fluid volume to fully expand the 22 cm cylinders.

Current Situation:
To make matters worse, the implant has now completely failed due to a fluid leak in the reservoir. The reservoir leaked out, rendering the system unusable.
Since I am now facing a revision surgery anyway, I am trying to gather information before talking to my surgeon:

• Has anyone had a situation where a reservoir was proven to be too small, preventing full cylinder expansion and girth?
• Has anyone experienced a leak/failure with the Rigicon AX reservoir specifically?
• If you had a revision with a larger reservoir, did it restore your natural pre-op girth?

Thanks a lot for your help and for sharing your experiences!

[bc2020]

Macintosh,

I only have had my Rigicon 1 month, but have read extensively- and I must say I have never heard of this complication from a Rigicon. Other brands have been around a long time, so maybe that accounts for it- that is to say, the recent advent of Rigicon IPP's as the reason for not hearing of this complication with them. And, I read everything I could find.

Questions: When were you implanted, how long after starting cycling did the problems begin, what was your reservoir size? Is the bulb flat? How have you confirmed it is a leak? What does your urologist say?

As you know, depending on when your surgery was you should want a replacement as quickly as possible to avoid size loss. Many here in the US often get a rigid placed to preserve length, usually related to infection complication- but it would depend on when your surgery was. If not infection I would assume they would just expedite a replacement.

I got a 140 cc reservoir using Dr Hakky, who has extensive experience with Rigicon and was chosen for a US trial for FDA approval. If anybody would have heard of such a problem from the product, it would be him. And from my experience, I would bet he would have put a huge reservoir on someone with that girth.

As you probably know, girth loss is not uncommon (not as much loss as you, though- it really depends on how much cycling time we are talking about, before the malfunction occurred); however, length loss is pretty unusual after months of cycling. What were your length measurements?

If it really was a leak, I can say now this is the only time I've ever heard of it, and would tend to think it was a surgical complication rather than product defect- but I would like to know more about it for sure.

I am very sorry to hear of this problem, and am hoping for a speedy resolution for you.

[bc2020]

I neglected to say, cylinders are sized by length measurement only- Rigicon is the widest on the market but nowhere near 7 inches. It may be that Rigicon will expand to your cavernosa size with time and patient cycling, but the surgeon can't control that. No surgeon has any control of girth- that is the cylinder diameters plus overlying tissue- only length. And length has to be exact, with proper placement distally into the glans. There is no other option for cylinders regarding girth- we just continue to cycle over months, and see what the final product is.

[1984ptc]

I have a rigicon too. Reservoir 135 cc. Im back to my preop size of 6.25 inches. 0.25 of that is filler. On the website rigicon advertises a 110 cc reservoir max but i know in the us market theres a 140 cc. Bc2020 has the max size.

Rigicon is the widest. Ive compared the maxed out rigicon and titan in hakkys office.

Elbowroom here has a titan 28 cm. The longest in the market. His girth is insane at almost 7 inches and has a length of almost 9 inches.

In theory you should be able to preserve yours.
Maybe the leak is just the issue

[Chris1967]

I have a Rigicon Infla X. It also used Professor Osmonov. I have after approx. 7 months ago restored my old length. It works very well. He is one of the best surgeons internationally. He usually uses the Infla X. It's harder than the AX. I am very satisfied with it. Who operated on you before the audit? How long ago was that?

[GoodWood]

I’m sorry that your first post is about problems with your implant. But this is a good place to get advice from people who have had similar experiences.

From your description, I think there are two different problems:

1. There may not be enough fluid in the system.
2. There may be a leak in the system.

You can sometimes tell if there is not enough fluid in the system by watching the pump bulb.

When you pump the implant and get close to your maximum size, the pump bulb may become flat and will not refill. If you then deflate the implant, the bulb fills with fluid again. If you pump again and the bulb becomes flat again at the same point, this can mean that all of the available fluid has moved from the reservoir into the cylinders. There is no more fluid in the reservoir for the pump to move into the cylinders.

This does not necessarily mean that you have a leak.

It can also happen because the cylinders have stretched over time. If the cylinders become larger, they may need more fluid to become larger still.

This has happened to several of us, including me. When my pump bulb becomes flat, my implant is still very large and very rigid. Because of this, I am not sure if I will have more fluid added to the system.

If my pump bulb became flat but my implant was not large or rigid enough, then I would need to discuss adding more fluid with my surgeon.

The other problem you described is different. If fluid is actually leaking out of the system, the implant will not be able to inflate properly. This can happen, although it is very unfortunate that it happened so soon after your surgery.

If there is a confirmed leak, your surgeon will need to replace the system.

When you speak with your surgeon, I would discuss both issues. Tell them that you are concerned about the amount of fluid in the reservoir, and that you would like to regain as much girth as possible.

Hopefully, your surgeon can consider these concerns when installing the replacement system.