DonBecker54 wrote:I finally got my medical records for my surgery. The doc installed an 18 cm cylinder. The record mentions nothing about rear tip extenders.
Are RTE's always used, or no?
No they are not always used. The debate is on here on RTEs.
I think the common understanding is that they are firstly used for dicks which requires an implant of a length in between two of the existing cylinder lengths. In theory, this means they should be used less often with Titan than AMS, since Titan implants come in 2 cm increments and AMS implants in 3 cm increments.
Also, one usage of RTEs is fixing issues where one side requires longer length than the others.
I have had long talks with Eid, and his ideas about RTEs are:
Avoid them if possible, since they will to some (varying) degree reduce the quality of the erection over the years. It will get more wobbly (loose at the base).
They are mostly used to make it easier for the surgeon to insert the implant, and to get the tips at the right position in the glans. Getting a perfect insertion of the implant and perfect sizing without using RTEs require more surgeon skill than when using RTEs.
He also claims that in most cases they are required with an AMS implant to get the pump down to a low position in the sack (due to the relatively short tubing of the AMS versus Titan).
He also had a very technical discussion on how a bigger proportion of the implant being inflatable is better for several reasons. Obviously, the more RTE length that is added, the lower the inflatable part. If I remember right, the longer Titans, (22 cm and up) are the implants on the market today which have the highest proportion of inflatable length, and Eid thought they often gave the best results.
He also said he was working together with Coloplast in developing the next generation of implants which he suggested should have an even larger inflatable proportion than today's implants, since even a Titan without any usage of RTEs will have parts both in the rear end and in the tip which are not inflatable, but solid.
In my case, I have no RTEs. He inserted 22 cm Titan without RTE first.
Thought there was room for more and inserted 1.5 cm RTE.
It worked well, and there was possibly room for even more.
So he removed the 22 cm plus RTEs and scrapped them, then inserted a 24 cm Titan without RTE.
I have of course no idea what my result would have been with RTEs, but my erection right now is for sure hard beyond anything normal, and it is very much less wobbly (or flexible in the base) than a normal erection. Almost to the point where I wish there was a bit more flexibility in the base.