FrankTalk.org

Post-Op Protocols for best results
Having spent the last year researching the protocols for pre-op care (and selection of surgeon and other items of interest) I find I neglected the investigation of post-op care.

I read (and am re-reading) many of the accounts of FrankTalk contributors (thank you very much, guys) of post-op care, pain, ameliorating activites and such and now invite stories of how best to deal with the first 6 weeks of recovery after implant surgery.

My surgeon (Dr. Shaw, USAF) will be implanting an AMS device on Monday, November 6, 2017. Probably an LGX. I will let him know that I prefer the Spinal Block rather than General Anesthetic.

He estimated leaving me at 50% inflation, but I intend ask him to be as aggressive in this regard as practical. I also will tell him I desire an early activation protocol to mitigate the "coffin effect" of pseudo-capsule scar tissue formation. I know this is often painful, but I have been vacuum pumping for 11 months, so am accustomed to a twice-daily effort.

My scrotum has always been a little high and tight with smallish testicles. I have asked him about a vasectomy at the same time (though I am approaching 70, the benefits of being safe from impregnating any partner who might be fertile outweighs the drawbacks, I think - ever the optomist, I am )

Any advice y'all can share about:

positioning the pump (pulling it down to the optimal location for inflating/deflating and everyday comfort)

icing (I have a circulating-water ice machine. It looks like a picnic cooler with tubes that keep a bladder filled with icy cold water. The circulating tubes even have a temperature regulator.)

sleeping positions (on the back, on the side, "is prone even possible?", seated in a recliner chair, etc)

supportive underwear immediately post-op (Dr. Shaw will recommend pointing my penis up during the first few weeks), particularly focused on treating the scrotum.

anything else you wish you had known before your experiences.

I thank you all in advance.

Lost Sheep

I would greatly appreciate any and all information about this.

I go in at 6:30 in the morning!

My advice is:
It's a bit of a journey and to listen carefully to your doctor, although he really is just parroting what the manufacturers say. I haven't heard of anyone asking their surgeon "do you have one yourself?".....

It would be interesting to have that discussion wouldn't it because the advice would be backed by personal experience.
In the end though, the discomfort subsides and the amazing properties and attributes of having an implant come to the fore and all feels great in life after all the trials and tribulations of ED

Smetro wrote:My advice is:
It's a bit of a journey and to listen carefully to your doctor, although he really is just parroting what the manufacturers say. I haven't heard of anyone asking their surgeon "do you have one yourself?".....

It would be interesting to have that discussion wouldn't it because the advice would be backed by personal experience.
In the end though, the discomfort subsides and the amazing properties and attributes of having an implant come to the fore and all feels great in life after all the trials and tribulations of ED

You bet I will be adhering assiduously to Dr Shaw's instructions. I feel he and i are of like mind on most aspects of implants and i feel he was a Godsend after searching high and low for a surgeon and being blocked by red tape from Dr Kramer who ALMOST was able to do my surgery this summer.

Dr Shaw appears to appreciate a self-educated patient and has possibly more experience following up on patients' feelings about their implants than do most surgeons. He coauthored a paper (with Dr Garber) evaluating 200 patients experiences with two versions of Coloplast pump and valve assemblies (100 using the old valve and 100 using the newly introduced OTR valve). I infer from that and the short meeting we had preop that he will be atuned to patient satisfaction, as that was the focus of that paper.

e may not be a big fan of early activation (as I am), but I hope he will approve an early and aggresive cycling program for me.

Thanks for your thoughts

Lostsheep
Best advice is stay horizontal when possible. Less pain and swelling if your off your feet. 2nd is ice. Or what i used is frozen corn/peas. Fits better around your package. Sleeping can be tough. I slept on my side with a pillow between my legs. Underwear......hot topic. I used performance boxer briefs. Some doctors recommend compression shorts but the RBX boxer briefs worked nicely for me. Supportive with a pocket for your junk. Overall nothing strenuous for about two weeks. Pain pills. Personally i did not fill my script. I have a good tolerance for pain. I alternated between advil and tylenol. The other problem with pain pills is constipation. Hard to squeeze out your deuce when you are in pain. Ultimately check with your doc. He makes the big bucks. These recommendations are just my two cents. Not tryin to light a fuse on anyones tampon. Hope some of this helps you.
Bandit

Yes, Bandit, very helpful except for the word "vertical". I know you meant "horizontal" by the context ("off your feet") but others might be troubled by the apparant contradiction.

You may want to edit your post. I do that ALL the time.

Bags of frozen vegetables seem to be universally favored. When I had shoulder surgery and my friend had a knee replacement, we were given ice machines that pumped cold water into a bladder that we kept wrapped around the wounded body part. The bladders were shaped to fit closely and worked great. I wonder if anyone makes a scrotum-shaped bladder for the circulating ice water cooler?

Lostsheep
Thanks. Thats what i meant. But yeah, dont over do it and you ll be fine. Like Smetro said, it will all be over and you reap the benefits. When you look back, it wasnt that bad !
Bandit