Implant and revision affordability (IPP/Malleable)

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I'm 42 with ED all of my life. Cialis worked 10% of the time and I want to move onto an implant.

I’m facing a dilemma and would appreciate your guidance. My Aetna insurance won’t cover penile implants, whether it’s a new procedure or a revision, and the base cost for an IPP is $22,000 out-of-pocket by some of the best surgeons recommended here. While I could use my Citi Visa credit card to cover the expenses, I'm concerned about the financial burden if I experience any device malfunctions and need further revision procedures down the line.

Given that situation, do you think it might be financially wise to choose a malleable for $16,000 until I turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare? At 65, I can get the IPP as Medicare covers this procedure. Malleables can't have mechanical malfunctions and may not require frequent revisions.

For malleable revisions until 65, I’ve considered traveling to India, where the total cost for surgery is $3,400 and travel (including round trip airline, lodging and food) would be $3000 max for a week's stay. I’ve been to India before, having hiked in the Himalayan foothills, so the country is not totally unfamiliar to me.

I’m curious if anyone else here has had a similar situation with a crappy insurance coverage and the financial strain of potentially not having the finances for further IPP surgeries.

What would your plan be in my shoes?

I’d really appreciate any advice or suggestions.

Why not Karaman in turkey? The whole thing costs like $8500 and it's with an AX implant which expands also in length. You can search "Karaman" and you will find a lot of posts.

[Discovernew]

I'm 42 with ED all of my life. Cialis worked 10% of the time and I want to move onto an implant.

I’m facing a dilemma and would appreciate your guidance. My Aetna insurance won’t cover penile implants, whether it’s a new procedure or a revision, and the base cost for an IPP is $22,000 out-of-pocket by some of the best surgeons recommended here. While I could use my Citi Visa credit card to cover the expenses, I'm concerned about the financial burden if I experience any device malfunctions and need further revision procedures down the line.

Given that situation, do you think it might be financially wise to choose a malleable for $16,000 until I turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare? At 65, I can get the IPP as Medicare covers this procedure. Malleables can't have mechanical malfunctions and may not require frequent revisions.

For malleable revisions until 65, I’ve considered traveling to India, where the total cost for surgery is $3,400 and travel (including round trip airline, lodging and food) would be $3000 max for a week's stay. I’ve been to India before, having hiked in the Himalayan foothills, so the country is not totally unfamiliar to me.

I’m curious if anyone else here has had a similar situation with a crappy insurance coverage and the financial strain of potentially not having the finances for further IPP surgeries.

What would your plan be in my shoes?

I’d really appreciate any advice or suggestions.

Why not Karaman in turkey? The whole thing costs like $8500 and it's with an AX implant which expands also in length. You can search "Karaman" and you will find a lot of posts.

Thank you, I'll look into it further. Is Dr. Karaman considered a high volume IPP or a high volume malleable surgeon? Including airfare, hotel, and other expenses, the total cost is around $12,000, which is double the price of getting a malleable in India. I can do it just the 1st time, but budgeting for revisions maybe out of the question for me.

He does IPP as far as i know. But first you need to decide if you want a malleable or an IPP, and then choose the best doctor based on that. It's like you are deciding if you want to buy a motorcycle or a car. Once you make up your mind on which version you want then choose the most experienced doctor on that.

Last time i checked Karaman's hospital was charging $9500 including hotel and transport in turkey (basically everything minus the flight to get there). But if you can get it directly through a rigicon sales rep, i know you can get it for as low as $7k, with the exact same doctor and hospital (sounds weird but i know members of this forum who paid $7k. this was 1 year ago and without any hotels or transport, not sure if those prices are still valid).

For me personally, i never considered a malleable in the first place, so that was not an option.

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He does IPP as far as i know

Thank you for the incredible advice. Based on your knowledge, is Dr. Karaman primarily a high volume IPP doctor, or is he more focused on malleables and can also perform an IPP if requested?

As far as i am aware, all the patients i met from him are IPP patients.

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The ax is supposed to have a lifetime warranty. If you do need a revision, cost would probably be half (only need to pay for the hospital but not the implant)

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The ax is supposed to have a lifetime warranty. If you do need a revision, cost would probably be half (only need to pay for the hospital but not the implant)

That sounds quiet reasonable for me in a scenario of 1 IPP revision every decade until I become eligible for Medicare. I hadn’t thought about Rigicon's lifetime warranty before. Do you have any information on how many IPP procedures Dr. Karman performs annually?

I'm not sure how many anually, but you could have a consultation with him