Implant Surgery A Bust

[Notgivingup]

Texas, ouch! I feel for you, brother. I’m sure we all are pulling for you and hoping for a successful resolution. Let us know how you are feeling and how this plays out. I hope the repair costs you no money.

[young_and_impotent]

Did you feel your hardon getting softer as the leak was happening?

[stephen54]

I was implanted with an AMS 700 LGX on November 11, 2019. I had a fair amount of pain and more so, discomfort, falling the surgery, but all of that mostly subsided in the many weeks subsequent to surgery. The last to subside was the pain in my scrotum which delayed attempts at cycling the device. About 2-3 weeks ago, the surgeon attempted to inflate the device for the second time post surgery, and was unable to do so. I was still a bit soar, so we waited until today to re-attempt, for what would now be the third time. The pump was working, the pain in the scrotum substantially less. Yet, the cylinders would still not inflate, essentially the same issue we had 2-3 weeks ago. The surgeon has been consulting with Boston Scientific/AMS (both several weeks ago, and then today while I was at his office). Based on the consultation, he made several successful attempts to reset the system, deflating the cylinders, returning any saline to the reservoir. Boston Scientific/AMS advised him that it was possible the reservoir had either folded over, or there was a leak in the system. He then did an ultrasound where he was able to measure the size of the reservoir, perform another reset, and yet another measure of the reservoir size. Shape of the reservoir was as expected, so no fold over. However, the reservoir is suppose to have 100cc of saline, and both times measured 67cc. I was able to see both my bladder and the reservoir on the ultrasound. The assessment is that there is a leak somewhere in the system. Surgery is a bust.

After much discussion, I will continue on with this surgeon and repeat the implant. He is in a large, highly regarded, urology group in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and does about two of these a week, second only to one other doctor in that practice. He has also done a prior urology procedure on me, and I have not lost my confidence in him, despite this outcome. He is a solid individual, with impressive credentials and is a highly competent surgeon. I don't know whether the device was "nicked" during the original procedure, or, whether the device had a leak to begin with. When they suspect a device problem during surgery, they immediately go to a new device. In my case, where the leak was discovered post surgery, they will replace 100% of the device to ensure there are not any remaining leaks. He indicated recovery should be a bit easier, as the nerve damage done in the surgery has now already been done with the prior surgery. Nerves just don't regenerate that quickly.

Honestly, I have mixed emotions. This has been a tough recovery, made worse by an unsuccessful outcome. I have suspected for the last 2-3 weeks this might be the outcome, so I was not overly surprise today. I was both prepared and disappointed. Yet, my choice is to either (i) give up, or (ii) press on. I am choosing to press-on.

Next step is to get this scheduled (in about six weeks) and understand what insurance will cover. The first time through my out-of-pockets were minimal; I am on Medicare with a good supplemental policy, and had met all of my 2019 deductibles. Never in a million years did I see my 2020 spending coming into play, until today!

I'm so sorry for this experience you are having.

But I'm equally happy to see you orienting yourself toward the "choosing to press-on" mindset. And the high road, as you said. I trust you are going to look back at some point in the not too distant future, probably while you are having some amazing robo-sex, and really see this problem you're now in the midst of as, in the bigger picture, just a frustrating detour toward ultimately awesome things. Go forward man, get it done, stay positive!

[Texas75008]

I posted the original post in this thread in January, 2020 and am remiss in following up. I had the revision surgery on February 18, 2020. Prior to the surgery, he was able to get the pump to work, but never consistently. We thus suspected a fault with the pump device itself. The surgeon only needed to replace the pump, which he also slightly relocated.

Recovery was far less painful than the original surgery in November, 2019. I didn’t need any pain medication. I waited about 6 weeks to begin cycling, and commenced to have sex a few weeks after that.

I am pleased to say the revision surgery was very successful! We are having sexual intercourse 3x per week and it is just awesome! No worries about loosing hardness, and plenty of opportunity to have long, intimate sex in multiple positions. I feel like I new man, many years younger. It’s nice to have sexual intimacy back in our marriage where we can “go all the way” (use your imagination)

My penis is a little shorter than I would like - I am hopeful that I will regain some length over time with the LGX. it can be mildly uncomfortable when cycling to 100%. Interestingly, I am never uncomfortable when having sex! And it gets more comfortable over time with regular cycling. I cycle when I shave and shower or when reading before bed (if it’s an off night!).

My only regret is messing with ED drugs, injections and vacuum pumps - I wish I had had the implant about 4 years ago when the ED drugs weren’t sufficient to result in a hard penis sufficient for sexual intercourse.

I will eventually get a report from Boston Scientific on the pump failure - it was not available because of furloughs caused by Covid 19, or so they say. Frankly, I am just delighted to have a working implant!

[OregonStrong]

awesome to hear, thanks for getting back to us on what happened and great success story!

[Old Guy]

Great to hear you got things fixed, but what a bummer to have to do a repair so soon.
Isn't it great to have that confidence in the bedroom back?

[68CatFan]

Congrats Texas. I am very happy for you!!

[ViaSwiss]

Congrats!

Glad that you stuck it through and now are in a better spot. I love seeing how many people say they wish they would have done this sooner!