FrankTalk.org

JH1982 wrote:Hi guys I had a consultation with Antonini in Italy and I was quoted 24k.

I have some concerns about the consultation. So I would like to hear the opinion of some of you who has gone through more consultations and has more experience with that

1) the price: 24k seems very high.

I’m not sure that it’s justified. He seems to be the best in Europe but I still wonder if, most of the time, going to him or to another surgeon will make any difference.

Antonini justified the price telling me that 13,5 is for the implant and the rest goes to him, facility anestesia

However my understanding is that you can get this surgery for around 15-20k (if not less in other countries)


2) I’m a “grower”. In terms of length he told me that this is how you see how long the penis will be when inflated by the implant

You grab the gland of your penis when flaccid. You stretch it almost to break it. And that’s the final length.

I think that, compared to my normal erection (or at least the one I had) I will definitely loose some size.

While he told me that the width will be exactly the same.

To be honest I’m quite concerned to shorten my penis.

He told me that there is absolutely nothing that can be done to “make it longer” otherwise the implant would injury the gland.

In his opinion in the hands of an inexperienced surgeon it can get shorter but no one in the world can “size me up” (I guess is the jargon to say “make me longer”)

I feel a bit blocked by this

3) he sounded overly confident. While this is in a way a good thing I know friends who, having other surgeries in the past, had issues with overly confident surgeons.

So I don’t know if this could be an issue or not

4) he proposed to make me talk with some patients as I was concerned about sensitivity.

While this is great and I know that most surgeons (at least in other fields) don’t do it,, of course I would only speak with the happy patients so I don’t know how much this would help practically.

5) I asked him about Regicom.

The reason why I was interested is the lifetime guarantee and the fact that I’m 40.

He told me that while you can save a bit of money with Regicom is nothing substantial

At the same time he didn’t recommend it.

He says that at the moment there is no long term literature so he would just put it in a 70 years old patient.

While I do understand that there is some rationale in this…. Implanting that implant only on a 70 years old patient kind of kills the purpose of the lifetime guarantee

6) he told me that the other implants are guaranteed only 5 years.

I thought they had a 10 years guarantee

To be honest having only a 5 years guarantee is quite concerning. I feel like is too short. Expecially considering my young age

7) I asked him precisely why 10/15% of patients seem to be dissatisfied with implants.

He told me that the main reason is that they had them with the national health service and they didn’t understand the pros and cons of the surgery.

I’m not sure about that. I feel like maybe he was trying not to describe to me the worse case scenarios not to scare the shit out of me.

I guess that if surgeons told you everything nobody would get surgery.

But at the same time, the unknown scares me even more.

8) I asked him about the infection rate.

He told me that in literature is 2,5%. But he never personally had a case. I wonder if this can be true

9) I asked him the risks of having multiple surgeries.

Being young is a concrete possibility for me.

He told me that if the implant gets infected then it can be tricky.

If it just fails then there is no issue.

I wonder if this can be true.

To me it seems logical that keep insulting the erectile tissue every time that you change the implant might create issues.

10) he seems (and I was expecting that) to find the technique he learned from Perito superior.

And passing from the scrotum barbaric.

However I heard some of you here telling that

- while passing from the scrotum has a higher infection rate
- won’t have implications on the sensitivity

11) another thing that made me wonder is that, after paying, you can get surgery in 7-8 days

While this is great in a way… I was though expecting a longer waiting list considering the amount of surgeries that he does.

I don’t think though that this should be a concern as he told me that the surgery lasts 15 minutes so I guess that it is easy to squeeze one more patient in the same day

I would love to hear thought of people who
- went through more consultations (this was my first one)
- and are already implanted

To be honest the amount of money he is asking is blocking me a bit. I’m not going to lie. It’s a big amount of money.

Expecially given that it will most likely not be my last surgery.

If I could take drugs honestly I wouldn’t even consider it but I can’t.

JH1982 wrote:Hi guys I had a consultation with Antonini in Italy and I was quoted 24k.

I have some concerns about the consultation. So I would like to hear the opinion of some of you who has gone through more consultations and has more experience with that

1) the price: 24k seems very high.

I’m not sure that it’s justified. He seems to be the best in Europe but I still wonder if, most of the time, going to him or to another surgeon will make any difference.

Antonini justified the price telling me that 13,5 is for the implant and the rest goes to him, facility anestesia

However my understanding is that you can get this surgery for around 15-20k (if not less in other countries)


2) I’m a “grower”. In terms of length he told me that this is how you see how long the penis will be when inflated by the implant

You grab the gland of your penis when flaccid. You stretch it almost to break it. And that’s the final length.

I think that, compared to my normal erection (or at least the one I had) I will definitely loose some size.

While he told me that the width will be exactly the same.

To be honest I’m quite concerned to shorten my penis.

He told me that there is absolutely nothing that can be done to “make it longer” otherwise the implant would injury the gland.

In his opinion in the hands of an inexperienced surgeon it can get shorter but no one in the world can “size me up” (I guess is the jargon to say “make me longer”)

I feel a bit blocked by this

3) he sounded overly confident. While this is in a way a good thing I know friends who, having other surgeries in the past, had issues with overly confident surgeons.

So I don’t know if this could be an issue or not

4) he proposed to make me talk with some patients as I was concerned about sensitivity.

While this is great and I know that most surgeons (at least in other fields) don’t do it,, of course I would only speak with the happy patients so I don’t know how much this would help practically.

5) I asked him about Regicom.

The reason why I was interested is the lifetime guarantee and the fact that I’m 40.

He told me that while you can save a bit of money with Regicom is nothing substantial

At the same time he didn’t recommend it.

He says that at the moment there is no long term literature so he would just put it in a 70 years old patient.

While I do understand that there is some rationale in this…. Implanting that implant only on a 70 years old patient kind of kills the purpose of the lifetime guarantee

6) he told me that the other implants are guaranteed only 5 years.

I thought they had a 10 years guarantee

To be honest having only a 5 years guarantee is quite concerning. I feel like is too short. Expecially considering my young age

7) I asked him precisely why 10/15% of patients seem to be dissatisfied with implants.

He told me that the main reason is that they had them with the national health service and they didn’t understand the pros and cons of the surgery.

I’m not sure about that. I feel like maybe he was trying not to describe to me the worse case scenarios not to scare the shit out of me.

I guess that if surgeons told you everything nobody would get surgery.

But at the same time, the unknown scares me even more.

8) I asked him about the infection rate.

He told me that in literature is 2,5%. But he never personally had a case. I wonder if this can be true

9) I asked him the risks of having multiple surgeries.

Being young is a concrete possibility for me.

He told me that if the implant gets infected then it can be tricky.

If it just fails then there is no issue.

I wonder if this can be true.

To me it seems logical that keep insulting the erectile tissue every time that you change the implant might create issues.

10) he seems (and I was expecting that) to find the technique he learned from Perito superior.

And passing from the scrotum barbaric.

However I heard some of you here telling that

- while passing from the scrotum has a higher infection rate
- won’t have implications on the sensitivity

11) another thing that made me wonder is that, after paying, you can get surgery in 7-8 days

While this is great in a way… I was though expecting a longer waiting list considering the amount of surgeries that he does.

I don’t think though that this should be a concern as he told me that the surgery lasts 15 minutes so I guess that it is easy to squeeze one more patient in the same day

I would love to hear thought of people who
- went through more consultations (this was my first one)
- and are already implanted

To be honest the amount of money he is asking is blocking me a bit. I’m not going to lie. It’s a big amount of money.

Expecially given that it will most likely not be my last surgery.

If I could take drugs honestly I wouldn’t even consider it but I can’t.

JH1982 wrote:Hi guys I had a consultation with Antonini in Italy and I was quoted 24k.

I have some concerns about the consultation. So I would like to hear the opinion of some of you who has gone through more consultations and has more experience with that

1) the price: 24k seems very high.

24K US $ ( 21.8K uro) is what I paid a little over 5 years ago for the surgery. Add in air travel and hotel for me as well as meals and other medical tests at home for surgery certificate and I was in this ball park price wise. In the US there are many doctors that charge more. Eid, Perito, and R. Valenzuela to name a few. There are doctors that are less though. As was posted some really good ones closer to you.

I’m not sure that it’s justified. He seems to be the best in Europe but I still wonder if, most of the time, going to him or to another surgeon will make any difference.

Antonini justified the price telling me that 13,5 is for the implant and the rest goes to him, facility anestesia

However my understanding is that you can get this surgery for around 15-20k (if not less in other countries)


2) I’m a “grower”. In terms of length he told me that this is how you see how long the penis will be when inflated by the implant

I was a grower also. Unless you are having enlargement surgery along with your implant you are just looking for a doctor who sizes aggressively to reduce or avoid size loss. After the surgery you will be more of a shower depending on the device that is used. The implant surgery can cause size loss with a conservative sizing doctor but a over sized device will not make you bigger it will only cause problems.

You grab the gland of your penis when flaccid. You stretch it almost to break it. And that’s the final length.

I think that, compared to my normal erection (or at least the one I had) I will definitely loose some size.

While he told me that the width will be exactly the same.

To be honest I’m quite concerned to shorten my penis.

He told me that there is absolutely nothing that can be done to “make it longer” otherwise the implant would injury the gland.

In his opinion in the hands of an inexperienced surgeon it can get shorter but no one in the world can “size me up” (I guess is the jargon to say “make me longer”)

I feel a bit blocked by this

3) he sounded overly confident. While this is in a way a good thing I know friends who, having other surgeries in the past, had issues with overly confident surgeons.

For the best doctors this really seems to come with them. Just like a pro sports best they are at time arrogant. Some hide it better than others. They are by definition this way.

So I don’t know if this could be an issue or not

4) he proposed to make me talk with some patients as I was concerned about sensitivity.

I would do this with any doctor you decide on. I would also do search on this site for him and see what has been posted on him in the past. As a bit to do with the above no doctor is perfect. They like to think they are but every doctors will have cases with problems. So looking for a perfect doctor is unreasonable. You are looking to increase your chances for a very good out come and reduce you chances for problems. There is still a risk though no matter who you go to.

While this is great and I know that most surgeons (at least in other fields) don’t do it,, of course I would only speak with the happy patients so I don’t know how much this would help practically.

5) I asked him about Regicom.

I have no information on Rigecon. As far as warranty in the US it seems that unless you are given a warranty certificate from the manufacturer at the time of the surgery you are pretty much out of luck. I was not given one nor have I read where anyone has. Some Doctors will provide a warranty and deal with the manufacturer and there is a company called Surgeo that has a 3rd party insurance policy for the 1st year after surgery. One thing to consider is you want to be on the same page with your doctor on the device used. I would think the doctor will do his/hers best work using the device they think is best.

The reason why I was interested is the lifetime guarantee and the fact that I’m 40.

He told me that while you can save a bit of money with Regicom is nothing substantial

At the same time he didn’t recommend it.

He says that at the moment there is no long term literature so he would just put it in a 70 years old patient.

While I do understand that there is some rationale in this…. Implanting that implant only on a 70 years old patient kind of kills the purpose of the lifetime guarantee

6) he told me that the other implants are guaranteed only 5 years.

I have read that stated warranty is different outside the US. As posted above and in other treads in the US the warranty posted on web sites is not binding and court cases have failed to result in holding the manufacturer to those claims. So if you get 5 years that is better than nothing men get in the US. The question is if.

I thought they had a 10 years guarantee

To be honest having only a 5 years guarantee is quite concerning. I feel like is too short. Expecially considering my young age

7) I asked him precisely why 10/15% of patients seem to be dissatisfied with implants.

This is a complex issue. Satisfaction rate is higher with better doctors. It also has to do with the man. Nothing worked for me. Not injections or oral meds. This surgery does not restore natural function. It dose give a man a way to have an erection. Not the same as natural but a great improvement over nothing. My local doctors were all low volume doctors and none of them were even skilled enough to do revision or replacement surgery. Those are more difficult for the surgeon and what you need to look for when looking for a doctor. The doctors who are high volume and do revision and replacement surgery have a higher satisfaction rate. But most of the surgeries are done by lower volume surgeons (the national health service doctors).

He told me that the main reason is that they had them with the national health service and they didn’t understand the pros and cons of the surgery.

I’m not sure about that. I feel like maybe he was trying not to describe to me the worse case scenarios not to scare the shit out of me.

I guess that if surgeons told you everything nobody would get surgery.

But at the same time, the unknown scares me even more.

8) I asked him about the infection rate.

I would say very unlikely that he has not had an infection. All the doctors in the US have an infection rate.
The best just have a much lower rate.

He told me that in literature is 2,5%. But he never personally had a case. I wonder if this can be true

9) I asked him the risks of having multiple surgeries.

The infection rate is slightly higher for revision or replacement surgery than for the first. One reason I have seen published is that some diabetic men have a large amount of bacteria in the biofilm that surrounds all the components of the device. Cylinders, tubing, pump, and reservoir. While locked inside the biofilm they are sealed and cause no harm. When this is ruptured with removing the components it is a cause for infection. The number was just under 50% of diabetic men. How many non diabetic men have this or other reasons I do not know. But this requires a wash out for this. For my repair my doctor did cultures of the fluid around the pump. tubing, and cylinder that was remover and then placed back in. All cultures were negative. The really good doctors can even remove an infect device and replace it with another inflatable in some cases. And the lower end doctors just remove the infected device and put nothing in. If the infection is really bad and not caught in time even very good doctors may not be able to even place a malleable in. These case have a lot of scar tissue and will cause loss of size. If this does happen with a younger man there is time that over the years and additional replacement surgeries that the scar tissue can be reduced and some of the lost size restored.

Being young is a concrete possibility for me.

He told me that if the implant gets infected then it can be tricky.

If it just fails then there is no issue.

I wonder if this can be true.

To me it seems logical that keep insulting the erectile tissue every time that you change the implant might create issues.

10) he seems (and I was expecting that) to find the technique he learned from Perito superior.

Sensitivity issues happen with both Penoscrotal and Infrapubic. There is a nerve bundle to avoid with Infrapubic. This is not a problem for a high volume good doctor though. I had Penoscrotal approach and had some loss of sensitivity. It returned after a year or so. Not all at once but after a few months slowly. Penoscrotal has been said to be best for pump placement and Infrapubic best for reservoir placement. There are other things to consider in scars if you shave or do hair removal. The tubing for the cylinders exit at the corporotomy. So this means they will exit at the top or at the bottom. Really good doctors are good at hiding this. As far is preventing infection with Penoscrotal Eid uses surgical glue to seal the opening in the skin. Nothing can get in so the risk is less than Infrapubic without using surgical glue. So like the different devices there are good and not as good points to each.
And passing from the scrotum barbaric.

However I heard some of you here telling that

- while passing from the scrotum has a higher infection rate
- won’t have implications on the sensitivity

11) another thing that made me wonder is that, after paying, you can get surgery in 7-8 days

The 15 minute thing is not new. My doctor, Perito, and others have been quoted on this. The idea is the less time you are open in surgery the less chance of infection. The prep time and post op time is much more though. Self pay can be fast as there is no insurance to deal with. And surgery certificate will differ also with age and health conditions.

While this is great in a way… I was though expecting a longer waiting list considering the amount of surgeries that he does.

I don’t think though that this should be a concern as he told me that the surgery lasts 15 minutes so I guess that it is easy to squeeze one more patient in the same day

I would love to hear thought of people who
- went through more consultations (this was my first one)
- and are already implanted

To be honest the amount of money he is asking is blocking me a bit. I’m not going to lie. It’s a big amount of money.

Expecially given that it will most likely not be my last surgery.

If I could take drugs honestly I wouldn’t even consider it but I can’t.

JH1982 wrote:Hi guys I had a consultation with Antonini in Italy and I was quoted 24k.

I have some concerns about the consultation. So I would like to hear the opinion of some of you who has gone through more consultations and has more experience with that

1) the price: 24k seems very high.

I’m not sure that it’s justified. He seems to be the best in Europe but I still wonder if, most of the time, going to him or to another surgeon will make any difference.

Antonini justified the price telling me that 13,5 is for the implant and the rest goes to him, facility anestesia

However my understanding is that you can get this surgery for around 15-20k (if not less in other countries)


2) I’m a “grower”. In terms of length he told me that this is how you see how long the penis will be when inflated by the implant

You grab the gland of your penis when flaccid. You stretch it almost to break it. And that’s the final length.

I think that, compared to my normal erection (or at least the one I had) I will definitely loose some size.

While he told me that the width will be exactly the same.

To be honest I’m quite concerned to shorten my penis.

He told me that there is absolutely nothing that can be done to “make it longer” otherwise the implant would injury the gland.

In his opinion in the hands of an inexperienced surgeon it can get shorter but no one in the world can “size me up” (I guess is the jargon to say “make me longer”)

I feel a bit blocked by this

3) he sounded overly confident. While this is in a way a good thing I know friends who, having other surgeries in the past, had issues with overly confident surgeons.

So I don’t know if this could be an issue or not

4) he proposed to make me talk with some patients as I was concerned about sensitivity.

While this is great and I know that most surgeons (at least in other fields) don’t do it,, of course I would only speak with the happy patients so I don’t know how much this would help practically.

5) I asked him about Regicom.

The reason why I was interested is the lifetime guarantee and the fact that I’m 40.

He told me that while you can save a bit of money with Regicom is nothing substantial

At the same time he didn’t recommend it.

He says that at the moment there is no long term literature so he would just put it in a 70 years old patient.

While I do understand that there is some rationale in this…. Implanting that implant only on a 70 years old patient kind of kills the purpose of the lifetime guarantee

6) he told me that the other implants are guaranteed only 5 years.

I thought they had a 10 years guarantee

To be honest having only a 5 years guarantee is quite concerning. I feel like is too short. Expecially considering my young age

7) I asked him precisely why 10/15% of patients seem to be dissatisfied with implants.

He told me that the main reason is that they had them with the national health service and they didn’t understand the pros and cons of the surgery.

I’m not sure about that. I feel like maybe he was trying not to describe to me the worse case scenarios not to scare the shit out of me.

I guess that if surgeons told you everything nobody would get surgery.

But at the same time, the unknown scares me even more.

8) I asked him about the infection rate.

He told me that in literature is 2,5%. But he never personally had a case. I wonder if this can be true

9) I asked him the risks of having multiple surgeries.

Being young is a concrete possibility for me.

He told me that if the implant gets infected then it can be tricky.

If it just fails then there is no issue.

I wonder if this can be true.

To me it seems logical that keep insulting the erectile tissue every time that you change the implant might create issues.

10) he seems (and I was expecting that) to find the technique he learned from Perito superior.

And passing from the scrotum barbaric.

However I heard some of you here telling that

- while passing from the scrotum has a higher infection rate
- won’t have implications on the sensitivity

11) another thing that made me wonder is that, after paying, you can get surgery in 7-8 days

While this is great in a way… I was though expecting a longer waiting list considering the amount of surgeries that he does.

I don’t think though that this should be a concern as he told me that the surgery lasts 15 minutes so I guess that it is easy to squeeze one more patient in the same day

I would love to hear thought of people who
- went through more consultations (this was my first one)
- and are already implanted

To be honest the amount of money he is asking is blocking me a bit. I’m not going to lie. It’s a big amount of money.

Expecially given that it will most likely not be my last surgery.

If I could take drugs honestly I wouldn’t even consider it but I can’t.

JH1982 wrote:Hi guys I had a consultation with Antonini in Italy and I was quoted 24k.

I have some concerns about the consultation. So I would like to hear the opinion of some of you who has gone through more consultations and has more experience with that

1) the price: 24k seems very high.

I’m not sure that it’s justified. He seems to be the best in Europe but I still wonder if, most of the time, going to him or to another surgeon will make any difference.

Antonini justified the price telling me that 13,5 is for the implant and the rest goes to him, facility anestesia

However my understanding is that you can get this surgery for around 15-20k (if not less in other countries)


2) I’m a “grower”. In terms of length he told me that this is how you see how long the penis will be when inflated by the implant

You grab the gland of your penis when flaccid. You stretch it almost to break it. And that’s the final length.

I think that, compared to my normal erection (or at least the one I had) I will definitely loose some size.

While he told me that the width will be exactly the same.

To be honest I’m quite concerned to shorten my penis.

He told me that there is absolutely nothing that can be done to “make it longer” otherwise the implant would injury the gland.

In his opinion in the hands of an inexperienced surgeon it can get shorter but no one in the world can “size me up” (I guess is the jargon to say “make me longer”)

I feel a bit blocked by this

3) he sounded overly confident. While this is in a way a good thing I know friends who, having other surgeries in the past, had issues with overly confident surgeons.

So I don’t know if this could be an issue or not

4) he proposed to make me talk with some patients as I was concerned about sensitivity.

While this is great and I know that most surgeons (at least in other fields) don’t do it,, of course I would only speak with the happy patients so I don’t know how much this would help practically.

5) I asked him about Regicom.

The reason why I was interested is the lifetime guarantee and the fact that I’m 40.

He told me that while you can save a bit of money with Regicom is nothing substantial

At the same time he didn’t recommend it.

He says that at the moment there is no long term literature so he would just put it in a 70 years old patient.

While I do understand that there is some rationale in this…. Implanting that implant only on a 70 years old patient kind of kills the purpose of the lifetime guarantee

6) he told me that the other implants are guaranteed only 5 years.

I thought they had a 10 years guarantee

To be honest having only a 5 years guarantee is quite concerning. I feel like is too short. Expecially considering my young age

7) I asked him precisely why 10/15% of patients seem to be dissatisfied with implants.

He told me that the main reason is that they had them with the national health service and they didn’t understand the pros and cons of the surgery.

I’m not sure about that. I feel like maybe he was trying not to describe to me the worse case scenarios not to scare the shit out of me.

I guess that if surgeons told you everything nobody would get surgery.

But at the same time, the unknown scares me even more.

8) I asked him about the infection rate.

He told me that in literature is 2,5%. But he never personally had a case. I wonder if this can be true

9) I asked him the risks of having multiple surgeries.

Being young is a concrete possibility for me.

He told me that if the implant gets infected then it can be tricky.

If it just fails then there is no issue.

I wonder if this can be true.

To me it seems logical that keep insulting the erectile tissue every time that you change the implant might create issues.

10) he seems (and I was expecting that) to find the technique he learned from Perito superior.

And passing from the scrotum barbaric.

However I heard some of you here telling that

- while passing from the scrotum has a higher infection rate
- won’t have implications on the sensitivity

11) another thing that made me wonder is that, after paying, you can get surgery in 7-8 days

While this is great in a way… I was though expecting a longer waiting list considering the amount of surgeries that he does.

I don’t think though that this should be a concern as he told me that the surgery lasts 15 minutes so I guess that it is easy to squeeze one more patient in the same day

I would love to hear thought of people who
- went through more consultations (this was my first one)
- and are already implanted

To be honest the amount of money he is asking is blocking me a bit. I’m not going to lie. It’s a big amount of money.

Expecially given that it will most likely not be my last surgery.

If I could take drugs honestly I wouldn’t even consider it but I can’t.