Stories of failure

[St1pan2019]

I have a surgery booked with Dr. Eid on January 9th, 2020 and I am traveling from outside the US and paying for this operation out of pocket. I am basically putting my faith in one of the best docs out there for this type of surgery that he will get my size correct and my biggest fear ( that of infection ) does not occur. The reason infection scares me is that I can’t afford another return trip and surgery out of pocket. I know Dr Eid has mentioned this is what worries him the most when people traveling from abroad paying out of pocket come to him for the procedure. He also mentions his great success rate and minimal rate of infection over the course of his career. I would still hate to be that one statistic or that unlucky guy who gets one. I am still going through with the surgery with Eid because I know he is one of he best at his craft and pray that all goes well with no infection. Hoping for money well spent in the coming months ahead!! I could have received the implant and procedure here in Canada for free but did not feel comfortable with my options. I figured I didn’t want to mess around with the only penis I have by entrusting the operation to someone other than the best. Now, pump failures or revisions are another story and hopefully I will not have to worry about that for a long time...

[robertm]

I know there are probably a lot of good cars on the market. But based on my experience, the experience of others, and ratings by independent organizations, I stick with Honda and Toyota. I've always had great luck with them. Lots of miles. Few problems. Minimal maintenance and repairs. I don't bother trying to figure out which of the hundreds of other cars might be good. I know there are other good cars. I just don't know which ones they are. I go with what works and what others have said are very good cars. The goal is to minimize risk and maximize satisfaction.

[Smetro]

Car analogy.........U.S.A

[jump.ship]

I have a surgery booked with Dr. Eid on January 9th, 2020 and I am traveling from outside the US and paying for this operation out of pocket. I am basically putting my faith in one of the best docs out there for this type of surgery that he will get my size correct and my biggest fear ( that of infection ) does not occur. The reason infection scares me is that I can’t afford another return trip and surgery out of pocket. I know Dr Eid has mentioned this is what worries him the most when people traveling from abroad paying out of pocket come to him for the procedure. He also mentions his great success rate and minimal rate of infection over the course of his career. I would still hate to be that one statistic or that unlucky guy who gets one. I am still going through with the surgery with Eid because I know he is one of he best at his craft and pray that all goes well with no infection. Hoping for money well spent in the coming months ahead!! I could have received the implant and procedure here in Canada for free but did not feel comfortable with my options. I figured I didn’t want to mess around with the only penis I have by entrusting the operation to someone other than the best. Now, pump failures or revisions are another story and hopefully I will not have to worry about that for a long time...

This is similar to me in that I opted for long travel plus high financial cost over local and FREE. It's insane really. But the right thing to do, and ultimately I am just glad I found this site and didn't make a misguided decision.

I am also very concerned about the cost of an infection. I could get the surgery done now with a little top up loan on my savings. But I am so very worried about potentially having to go back and pay out of pocket again for infection recovery that I want to keep the option of a loan / rack up my credit card for this awful scenario should it arise.

So waiting another few months before booking. Life. Is. On. Hold.

[Lost Sheep]

Yes.
That’s what I said.
Money can be an issue which limits our options.

And not just money...many factors.

jump.ship's post shows how resources and risk tolerance can influence our decision-making, also.

This is similar to me in that I opted for long travel plus high financial cost over local and FREE. It's insane really. But the right thing to do, and ultimately I am just glad I found this site and didn't make a misguided decision.

I am also very concerned about the cost of an infection. I could get the surgery done now with a little top up loan on my savings. But I am so very worried about potentially having to go back and pay out of pocket again for infection recovery that I want to keep the option of a loan / rack up my credit card for this awful scenario should it arise.

So waiting another few months before booking. Life. Is. On. Hold.

So, approaching the issue from another direction:

Risk management

Given the choice between top-notch high volume, excellent reputation surgeons or a lower volume surgeon of unknown expertise (but who CAN be veted by interview with former patients and other sources), what is a man with E.D. to do?

This opens up the question of, What would it take to induce a man to use an unknown-reputation surgeon instead of one of the stellar surgeons?"

Put another way, say a man had surgery scheduled with Dr. Kramer, Dr Eid, Dr, Karpman, Mr Love (Australia) or Mr. Ralph (U.K.) and was offered surgery by a less well-known surgeon. What could induce a man to take the offer. Money? Some other inducement?? What assurances of quality of care/expertise would be persuasive and how much (money or effort) are those assurances worth?

A somewhat related issue: How much investment of effort is one willing to put into veting an unknown surgeon vs simply taking the reputation found passively on Franktalk or other sources?

My personal story: I could have had surgery essentially for free in September 2016, by a local surgeon who did a few a month and it was not his specialty. But had been doing them for 40 years. I elected to wait to do more research and interviewed five other surgeons (including Dr Kramer and Dr Eid). I eventually followed Dr. Eid's advice, "Find a surgeon in love with his craft." and went with Dr. Shaw. The $5,000 (estimated) that I saved by going local instead of Dr. Kramer was not a major factor. Continuity of care was. And not having to travel across the country in major discomfort.

I spoke in detail with my surgeon and felt that he regarded me as an integral participant in the medical team and decision-making. And the clincher was his statement that; If I were in private practice, this would be my specialty. That indicated to me, a dedication to his craft that Dr. Eid recommended to me.

[Gt1956]

Thanks Lost Sheep. I think that it is a good idea for some members to explain why they choose the doctor that they did. And what influenced their decision to skip over the top 3. I think this decision process would be of great help to some confused members. No hate towards either group please.

[St1pan2019]

My reason for choosing One of the top guys ( I went with Eid) over my local guy was due to the fact that he couldn’t give me a clear answer on whether he would be performing the surgery himself. My local guy is well know in this area of Ontario Canada and does about 70 to 80 per year and has done over 2000 of these operations but it’s not his only specialty. I was willing to over look it not being his only specialty as he has been performing this surgery for many years and 80 per year is not a bad amount. He’s also written best practices and teaches the technique out of country to other docs. He does work at a teaching hospital and when I asked if he would be the one performing the surgery he merely said it is a team effort and he would be present in the room until the end. He could not give me a clear answer if he would be getting his hands dirty or not which worried me tremendously thinking that once I went under I would have one of his students measuring and fitting me with the cylinders... scary thought. I only have one penis and cannot imagine being worked on by a doctor who is just learning the technique... no thanks. I understand the only way to get good at something is practice but I’m not your guy. So ultimately I chose to pay out of pocket and go to someone who is considered one of the best and I know his hands will be the one doing all the work. My fear of infection or early pump failure or something unfortunate still weighs on my mind due to added costs but I am will to take the chance based on previous track records. Two months to go for me.. nervous but excited!

[Gt1956]

St1pan2019, thank you. Your answer is what I'd like to see posted. Let's help those members that stand on the sidelines in fear of making a mistake for whatever reason they can't go to the big 3. I would make the same decision. If your doctor can't say with a straight face that he'll either do the surgery. Or at least say the intern will do exactly as I say or I'll take over. Then it's not going to happen. Any hedging on a straight answer is your answer. Good for you.
I'm not familiar with my northern neighbors health plans. Are you locked into this teaching hospital because of your insurance?

[St1pan2019]

No I can travel to another hospital but the other names on the short list that i researched were not as reputable and have not performed nearly as many implant procedures. There are other up and coming doctors it appears but none that do this procedure solely or enough as most urologists up here specialize in multiple disciplines. This is not the only thing they do. Unfortunately there are not enough Canadian FT brothers on this site to hear their perspectives and stories about Canadian docs. I just can’t take the chance on my first implant. I think I read on here recently that the first is important to make sure everything goes well and you are fitted properly... if I need a revision then maybe a local guy with enough experience will work and he can follow what the last guy did in terms of size. I know I’m making the right decision even it means I will have to put off buying a better vehicle (which I do need) lol!

[Gt1956]

No I can travel to another hospital but the other names on the short list that i researched were not as reputable and have not performed nearly as many implant procedures. There are other up and coming doctors it appears but none that do this procedure solely or enough as most urologists up here specialize in multiple disciplines. This is not the only thing they do. Unfortunately there are not enough Canadian FT brothers on this site to hear their perspectives and stories about Canadian docs. I just can’t take the chance on my first implant. I think I read on here recently that the first is important to make sure everything goes well and you are fitted properly... if I need a revision then maybe a local guy with enough experience will work and he can follow what the last guy did in terms of size. I know I’m making the right decision even it means I will have to put off buying a better vehicle (which I do need) lol!

Cars come & go. But you only get one penis. Give it the best that you can.