AMS 700LGX -- excited about surgery

[chandlerman4649]

Hi,

I am chandlerman4649 and have been posting on Hellos and Introductions. I am moving my postings to this IMPLANT site because earlier this afternoon my urologist and I decided to go ahead with implanting an AMS 700LGX as soon as his scheduling person can get it on the hospital calendar, probably in two weeks. He is planning on implanting the LGX unless he runs into some unknown issue. It will be done through a peno-scrotal incision and I'll be in the hospital recovery area for 21 hours after surgery. I am REALLY excited to get this done. I've been dealing with ED since 1998 and have tried all three oral meds, MUSE, VED and Tri-Mix and nothing seems to work now. I am 64 and really miss having a great sexual relationship with my wife (she does too!). The urologist may have to use an intra-abdominal incision to install the reservoir since I have had multiple inguinal hernia repairs on both sides. Will keep you posted on the date of surgery!

Bob

[greggshere]

Congratulations on your decision, you are going to be very happy with your new implant. I wish you the very best for your surgery and recovery.

[GaryRN]

Congrats on the implant. Realize that this is a major surgery and not a minor surgery. Once the surgery is done, literally stay off of your feet for two weeks as much as possible. I used ice in ziplocks wrapped in a towel several times daily to keep the swelling down. The first few days I took Vicodin, but switched to Motrin, as it helped take the edema down. Everybody is different and will have varying degrees of swelling. Stay off your feet !!!

So, Ice and Motrin (Ibuprofen) daily help. Roll up a face towel and place under your scrotum when you sleep, it helped me to learn to sleep on my back to do this. Use a good jockstrap or men's string bikini underwear (I had to wear mine backwards) due to my grapefruit sized edema. I am not saying this will happen to you, as most people do not get it as bad as I did.

Once the first 2 weeks are done you will feel better, but it takes about 3 weeks to start feeling better or good enough to do stuff. Just be careful.

Thanks,
Gary (my implant on 4-19-13)

[Techman52]

Best wishes on your upcoming surgery. I'm sure you will be as happy with the 700 as I am with mine. Like the other guys have said; take it easy and rest during the recovery period. Ice will be your best friend, and no matter how bad it hurts, tug down on the pump like your surgeon will tell you. You will thank him in the future AND -- when the time comes, enjoy your new toy! Like being 17 again.

Larry

[rlm1818]

no matter how bad it hurts, tug down on the pump like your surgeon will tell you.
Larry

I think this should be: do what your surgeon tells you. Not every surgeon gives this instruction, and some, like mine, specifically instruct to make sure the pump stays where its put during surgery during the healing period. I think it matters where the surgery is done (pubic vs scrotal) and how the surgeon positions the pump. The advice you cite seems to be common with pubic incisions where the surgeon can't place the pump in a precise location. However, sometimes with a scrotal incision the surgeon can put the pump exactly where they think it should end up long term.

[chandlerman4649]

Thanks, guys, for all your greetings, well wishes and suggestions. Yes, I intend to have a large container of ice right next to my bed so I can keep the ice bags filled. I am anxious to hear specific instructions from my surgeon. He says that the morning after surgery, he will come to the recovery room, deflate the cylinders (he will have them 80% inflated for about 21 hours) and then give me further instructions.

I will take 4 to 6 weeks off work to try and get a good recovery!

I appreciate all the suggestions and encouragement. I realize each case is different but I do want to hear from you about your specific experience, especially if you have the AMS 700LGX or had the implant done peno-scrotal incision.

Thanks again,

Bob
PS still no word from the scheduler on surgery date....I am trying to be patient but that's hard to do when I'm this excited.

[Bxguy1]

Hi and congrats on your decision to get an implant. You will be re-vitalizing your sex life for sure! Just take it one day at a time for the first few weeks and then it hopefully gets easier. I am about a month post op and had a C/P Titan implanted penal-scrotally. I will share some things that I did and learned from others here on FT:

Elevate your pelvis above your heart- the best way I found to do this was to prop up my mattress about 15 degrees so that I wouldn't have to prop myself up on pillows or possibly roll off the pillows during my sleep. Also, you don't have to even think about it once you elevate the foot of your mattress. I had minimal swelling and maybe this technique helped keep my swelling down.

Some have suggested using plenty of ice and I agree. However during the night it can be time consuming to fill an icebag and keeping a cooler of ice next to your bed is kind of cumbersome. I found that disposable ice packs did the trick (box of 24 for $17 on amazon) at night. When you get that searing pain down below and it wakes you up, just grab a disp. ice pk and squeeze to activate and apply!

Stay absolutley off your feet for the first 3 days and only get up to use the toilet (my Dr told me to take 2 walks 15 mins per day)...after day 3.. I was told to remove catheter and start warm baths. When bathing DO NOT SIT in the bath but lie down...this is to prevent pushing the pump up (very imprtant!). Also do not sit anywhere else until after the first week (OF COURSE THIS IS WHAT MY DR INSTRUCTED ME TO DO BUT FOLLOW YOUR DR's ORDERS!!) I am just telling you instructions given to me to give you an idea what to prepare for. Especially since you have the previous hernia ops and need your resevoir implanted via an incision your situation is different and your recovery will be too.

Good Luck to you!

[chandlerman4649]

I just got word from the doctor's office. My surgery will by on July 9 and I don't know the time. They are sending me lots of papers about what to do before surgery and what/whatnot to bring to the hospital. I am disappointed in having to wait so long but my doctor had to coordinate everything from the hospital operating room availability to his assistant surgeon and his schedule along with the AMS rep will be making sure all the sizes, etc. are available.

One thing that my urologist suggests is that I continue to use VED therapy. I had been using my pump (Esteem Erectaid) 20 minutes once (maybe twice) a day and now he wants me to use it 45 minutes minimum at least twice a day. Sure does make things different looking after using the pump so long. It can be painful if I over pump but I don't mind it. He says it will stretch the cavernosa so the cylinders will fit properly. Probably won't increase length but will affect girth significantly.\

I'll keep you posted on my AMS 700LGX surgery! And I will list my date on the surgery calendar. I will also be posting a picture of me on the picture section shortly.

Thanks again, guys, for all your comments and support. I'm sure this waiting will be very hard for me to get through with my lack of patience.

Bob

[chandlerman4649]

Guys,

Question: I have been using vacuum therapy since February because I read that VED can SOMETIMES correct curved penis and peyronies disease by breaking up the calcium deposit on the wall of the cavernosa copora. It has actually worked for me. The last time I used an injection everything was straight with a slight curve upward which is fairly normal according to my uro. I had been using VED 20 minutes a day/once a day without a constriction ring. Just pump it up as much as I can stand it and just rest for 20 minutes with the vacuum pump still “attached”. My urologist has instructed me to increase my vacuum exercises to 45 minutes at least twice a day from now until my surgery.

I noticed on Dr. Karpman’s implant video, the following statement is placed at the beginning of the video: “Patients are instructed to perform the daily vacuum erection stretching protocol for at least 2 months before surgery in order to maximize penile length and to allow for proper implant sizing at the time of surgery.”

My questions are:

-Has anyone been instructed to use daily vacuum therapy as a way to increase length and prepare the cavernosa for receiving the cylinders prior to surgery?

-Since the vacuum pump lowers the atmospheric pressure in the tube and my penis tissue is just expanding under its normal pressure to fill the void, can the blood still circulate throughout the cavernosa copora or is it “locked” into my penis the same as when using the constriction ring until I release the pressure. My uro says that as long as I don’t use a constriction ring, there is no time limit to being “pumped up”. Does this make sense to any of you guys?

-If you have had Dr. Karpman as your surgeon, can you tell me what his specific protocol is?

Thanks for your help and advice.

Bob

[JDavid]

I consulted with Dr. Karpman earlier this month and he didn't bring it up. Surgery is planned for the 25th of this month.