Cnidium wrote:A short list of things that matter to me. Since this is choosing between Eid and Kramer, im not listing some of the more obvious benefits that involve both (surgical skill, patient satisfaction, low rate of infection and revision). I may be wrong in some of these points, feel free to correct me:
Eid Pros
• Multiple measurement methods – stretch test, injection induced erection
• Spinal block anesthesia – I have a fear of general anesthesia, I start shaking and sweating before I go under.
• Highest reported avoidance of RTE’s – good for minimizing wobbling and crus dilation
Eid Cons
• New York City – I cant imagine I would want to be in NYC for surgery. I associate this place with weekend partying (as I use to), not recuperating from surgery. I also like to eat extremely healthy, I especially would after surgery, and I imagine accessing good food at a decent price would be extremely annoying and expensive. I will eat nothing short of perfect nutrition for surgery. Cost of travel , hotel, ect will also be more expensive and annoying.
• Closer to retirement – I know he has some kind of guarantee on his work, but he will be retiring much sooner than Kramer. Perhaps its better to initiate this whole thing with the younger surgeon.
Kramer Pros
• Baltimore – easier to access, less expensive, better access to healthy food.
• Further from retirement – good for establishing a relationship with the surgeon since he could potentially be in practice for the rest of my sex life.
Kramer Cons
• More likely to use RTE’s, although he still uses them relatively sparingly.
• Anesthesia – cant say for sure that he uses general strictly, but I did have a user here PM that he agreed to use local, but then backed out last second and told the patient he would using general. If this is true, its kind of sketchy that he agreed to local in the first place.
• Only stretch method for measurement – This may not be such a problem, as most Kramer patients I see on this forum are happy about retaining their size. But still, something concerns me about only using the stretch test…
Concerning both surgeions:
I think they represent the two best surgeons in the world. I would be very happy with either one performing this surgery, and I don’t think one has superior skill or technique when it comes to the actual operation.
I’m most likely going with Eid at this point. Based on what I learn up to my booking date, I may switch to Kramer. The least likely user of RTE’s is the biggest winner for me. I have a high preference not to use general anesthesia and to have more than one measurement technique to help determine my implant size, but these are not as strong deal breakers. That being said, I hate the idea of going to NYC for surgery. Maybe its because im tired and don’t want to think about the logistics of it, but I cant imagine coordinating bringing all of the essential items for healing and accessing food will be easy. You may think im nuts for worrying about this, but I think anyone who doesn’t do 100% for their body pre and post surgery to maximize healing is nuts. I truly believe quality, nutrient rich food is critical for proper healing and recovery. So this is something that will be in back of mind.
If anyone has any other suggestions or recommendations, concerning Eid or Kramer, please let me know. Don’t bash one over the other, just state what you liked or didn’t like and why.
Thank you.
One factor you're not considering is the hospital used by Kramer & Eid. Compare the ratings for UMMC vs. Eid's hospital...UMMC is truly world-class & ranked as one of the best academic hospitals in the nation...at my age, that made a difference. As for anesthesia: I have serious sleep apnea & was at least as worried (if not more so) about general anesthesia as you appear to be. Around a month before my procedure, the anesthesiology triage team from UMMC called me & discussed that with me...allayed all my fears in that regard as did Dr. Kramer's anesthesiologist Patrick (who has been w/ Dr. Kramer for over ten years). I had no problem whatsoever w/ general. Both Kramer & Eid are absolute masters of the procedure...you can't go wrong with either-but the superior academic hospital setting w/ a world-class trauma center & the less stressful Baltimore experience tipped the scales in favor of Dr. Kramer. In addition to being one of the best & most knowledgeable penile implant surgeons on the planet, you could not find a nicer/more caring doctor out there...real "old school" bedside manner & always available to answer your questions down the road. As far as Kramer allegedly favoring RTEs vs. Eid: not true. Dr. Kramer told me a couple of weeks ago that he makes that determination based upon a variety of factors including each patient's anatomy. In my case he determined that after measurement, he could've used a 24 cm specially-made AMS LGX instead of the 21 cm unit but that the pump would've been far too high in my scrotum. As such, that would've entailed another 15 minutes of splicing before closing the scrotum (allowing more of a chance of infection) w/extra splice points instead of one. In short, he did a cost/benefit analysis which tilted toward using a 21cm LGX w/ 3cm RTEs. I have no "hinging" effect whatsoever and the LGX gets hard as steel if desired...better than any natural erection I ever had pre-ED.
