alibaba wrote:I chose Milam due to convenience that I could drive there in 5 hours and recommendations here on FT. At this point I wish I never had an implant. Doctor is not patient friendly nor is staff, hospital and record keeping are a disaster. I have a list of 8 issues with this implant. Every doctor who has looked at it tells me " That is not the way I would have done it". Last doctor turned out to be one of Milam's buddies and though he would not have put it in that way told me I should try it for a couple years to see if I can find a way to live with it before a revision. From day one I had skin burning issues and urethra burning issues. Both got better after a few weeks but never resolved and seem to be stirred up by pumping this thing up. When the shaft skin is not burning, it itches. Today traveling down the highway I was constantly rubbing it because it itched. I often spray the whole thing with bactine to try to relieve the itching or burning. Several doctors have looked at it with no answer including my dermatologist. I just figured up tonight that I've already in less than 80 days spent $3,000 on second opinions. I have had 4 urinalysis including the latest one with cultures and turned up nothing. The urethral burning is directly connected to being pumped up and the longer it is pumped up or the harder it is pumped the worse it gets till it is unbearable There is zero doubt in my mind at this point the urethral burning is the implant is pinching it. I can deflate and pry the cylinders apart a bit and the burning gets relieved. It is just like when you cut of circulation for a bit and things start to burn. Also the urethra changes color after I pump it. I looked in it with a nasal speculum ( great grandfather was a doctor and I still have his antique tools) and instead of being pink it will be grey/bluish color for a while after pumped so it has to have a blood constriction issue pumped. For 2 weeks I have been taking methocarbam and difonec (SP) together about an hour before I pump it up or I cannot take more than 1-2 minutes pumped else the pain is unbearable. Add to this the tubing bothering me all the time, the tissue connecting the rt nut to the pump which is becoming more of an issue, left bent dick, up bent dick, pump that sometimes works, sometimes does not, soft glans, 1 1/2" length loss on top of the 1 1/2 lost after the prostatectomy, there really is no plus side. This thing is rapidly approaching being an $80,000 nightmare. As soon as possible it has to come out. 1 doctor told me that getting an implant was a bad idea, 1 told me there were issues but try to live with it, 1 said there were issues and sent me to the previous stated doc for a revision, and 1 told me a list of everything he sees wrong with the way it was installed and the wrong selection of implant for my anatomy. Personally I think Milam needs to stop putting in implants given the number of times his name has come up with issues lately and their lack of interest in dealing with them. If you get an answer to you issues I would like to know what it is.
You say ASAP, yours has to come out. Will you get another?
I selected Milam due to a recommendation from a friend and from what I had read on this list and others. Also, I'm a 4 1/2 hour drive from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
My implant was done in 5/14, and things went fine until 3/15 (obviously nearly a year later). That's when the burning/pain began around the head and foreskin suddenly began. The urethral burning then began within a couple of weeks. I knew the urethral burning had to be connected to the implant since repeated urinalysis have turned up nothing.
The burning and pain upon erection and attempt at sex that started 13 months ago for me is still going strong with no signs that it is going to relent. When fully pumped up, however, there is no pain or burning until me or my wife touches my dick. If my wife begins foreplay, BJ or HJ, there is only so far she can go because it simply becomes too painful to continue. I can't even masturbate because of the same reason. If I leave mine pumped up fully, it begins to ache after about 20 minutes.
It is absolutely 100 percent frustrating that I underwent this procedure and am left in this condition. I was not totally impotent when I decided to have an implant done. I suffered from VL and could not sustain an erection to penetration (or some times beyond just a few minutes, depending on things were going with my penis that day) I now wish I had just kept the semi-natural erections I was able to attain instead of the painful condition I'm left with now.
Now, given a chance to do it all over, I would not do it.
I did not have any significant loss of length or girth, nor have I had any problem with my pump (although I do sometimes have a problem bringing my erection all the way down.)
I had the implant done under Medicare, so I'm not out of pocket a lot of money, other than travel, etc., although Vanderbilt soaked Medicare for $75,000. But now I'm left hanging as to what do I do in the future. It's going to start costing me money for referrals since this is the third urologist I've seen. I'm not sure how much pain and suffering one has to endure before a revision is in order and Medicare will pay for it.
Since you had your implant in January, Milam would have known about the problems I complained to him about in December (and that he brushed off). Of course, he also told me at that time that he had 4-5 patients each year that complained about the same thing that I was presenting with, without explaining what the cause or the cure was. His only interest at my December exam was to see if the pump was working OK; he had no interest in discussing the problem I was having.
I am very disappointed with Milam. At the outset I had a lot of confidence in him.
My next appointment with my urologist is the first week of May. I'm going to relay the info you passed on about the pinched
urethra. Have you had a cystoscopy done in relation to your thinking about that? I'm thinking that might be a test that should be in order, even though I've not pissed any blood, or really had difficulty passing urine.
When I was considering an implant, Milam was the name that kept surfacing when I looked for a competent surgeon in the Southeast who was in driving distance of me (Atlanta, Nashville, Birmingham, etc.) Now, I don't know of any others. Would like to hear some names if there are others??