Anybody know the future of IPP/MPP implants?

[Such-Accountant-4421]

Honestly, I think the biggest thing stopping many younger guys from getting an IPP isn’t the erection quality — it’s fear of:

mechanical failure,
needing multiple revisions over a lifetime,
infection risk,
and depending on a device forever.

Current implants already seem much better than older generations, but do you think in the next 5–6 years we could realistically see:

much lower failure rates,
stronger materials,
easier revisions,
more natural flaccid state,
smaller/better pumps,
or maybe even “smart” implants with improved durability?

I know no mechanical device can last forever, especially for younger patients who may need it for decades, but do you think technology will make revision risk much less scary by then?

[CardinalCopia]

I don't really have any specific answers to your questions, but it does seem that there are certainly areas of improvement that could be made. I would think that manufacturers like AMS and Coloplast would agree and likely have improved concepts on their whiteboards. The biggest hold-up in terms of advancement, different models, types and changes to implants, is money (ROI) and at least in the States, time (the FDA).

By the time an implant (or any medical device, for that matter) goes into production, massive sums of money on engineering, testing, sourcing, manufacturing, marketing, training, etc., etc., etc. have been invested by the manufacturers. Materials for hundreds of thousands of devices have been purchased. Manufacturing molds have been built. Elaborate marketing campaigns have been rolled out. Beta-testing has been performed. The upfront cash outlay is staggering. And at some point, during the midst of all this; the FDA needs to approve the device before it can be brought to market. And that literally takes several years.

Huge investments made, well in advance of a device finally made available to the public. To cover this, manufacturers have a calculated timeline in which they figure they will need to sell as many devices necessary, in order to cover their upfront investment and profit from it. And those timelines are decades long. So, from the time an idea is thought of, to the time it sees its production end, we are talking probably 15-30 years, or more.

It will be interesting to see what's on the horizon!