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Last week I got the news that none of us wants to hear...

Headed for robotic RP in 2 weeks. What a mind trip this is becoming. I may go crazy before I get to the OR.

Anyway, have been considering an implant for sometime now, and every time I got close to actually making the plunge, the little yellow and blue pills would decide to work (not well, but passable). Now I've got this procedure and its potential aftermaths to look forward to. If it's got to be, it's got to be. But I am really curious about how soon after it a doc would make me bionic, and how soon I could handle another procedure in what has always been one of my favorite places.

Bob

Bob,
Sorry to hear about your cancer. I opted for radiation to treat mine. After treatment nothing worked except a VED (hated it). An implant was my last hope. Praying that your surgery goes well. Frank Talk is here for you. Keep us posted on your progress. If an implant is inevitable, your wife will be SOOOOOOOO glad you got it. My wife is. Sex with a 'bionic dick' is incredible!
Donnie

I have read on some of the prostate cancer forums that there are some doctors, 1 in Louisiana if I remember correctly and 1 in Texas, that do the implant at the same time. Their take is less scaring in the cavernosa, less shrinkage from ED, easier to implant so better outcome being 90% will have some form of ED. Insurance companies on the other hand want you to go through pills,shots and vacuum suckers for 2 year first. It all gets down to money, the doctor and if your body can take all that at once. For me the prostate surgery was the worst I ever had pain wise. An implant on top of it would have made no difference in that respect. I wish I could have had them both together. 7 years 6 months prostate cancer free. Knock on wood. Waiting on latest test results.

2.5 years and 3.5 years after RP... what a wonderful gift for myself..... Go for it.....?!

Bob.
I got my Titan before my robotic RP.
Had no loss of length or problems after RP.
Perhaps if your RP could be postponed you could get your penile prosthesis first and then have the RP. I had the same great doctor do both with no complications.
Best luck to you.

Oldgoat's suggestion does have considerable merit! Worth considering unless you have a rapid increase in PSA. Mine was 3/4 point increase every 2 weeks. Normally 1 point in a year would be what most people experience. Talk to your doctor. I tend to think the implant first approach would be best for overall best outcome. You WILL have ED after your prostate comes out, even for a while at best outcome. In 2009 I had a surgery every 30 days. Prostatectomy was one of them. 9 surgeries in all that year.

I did not have significant ED problems prior to my robotic radical prostatectomy. So, I was in a different position than you are in. But, both the hospital where I had my RP and the health insurance plan I had at the time would not do or pay for a penile implant until at least two years had passed since the RP. About 17 months after my RP, my health insurer changed and I was able to ascertain that the insurer would consider approving payment for a penile implant after a year had passed. I was implanted 20 months after my RP. If insurance would have paid for it, I would have had it at the one year mark. Although there are reports of people miraculously becoming potent after 18 months or two years of total impotence, I knew within 6 months of my RP that I never was regaining potency. Pills had no effect on me (even taking greater than recommended dosages and the pump was like a medieval torture device. My advice to you is to check out your insurance plan and get an implant asap once you conclude that things are not working for you.