Active Duty - Malleable (Tectra) way to go?

[Lost Sheep]

(edited for focus)
I would definitely do it again; if you separate and go with the VA, maybe they will give you a referral to see a local urologist in your area. I'm not sure they would let you go to a high volume Doc, but who knows until you ask.
So, you're probably stationed at Moody Air Force Base, I'm not familiar with any of the VA hospitals over there even though I was stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base in the late 80's in the Florida panhandle.
I hope that my journey has helped give you more info to make a decision, but it's up to you.

Good Luck!
S-Works

I went with VA and my local (Alaska) sent me to a surgeon in the community. I was not particularly happy with the choice and investigated going to Maryland for Dr Kramer. This, I was told by my local VA was not doable, but I figured out a way, enrolled in the Maryland VA and was on my way to that (no help from the VA for travel costs, but everything else would be covered one way or another). The VA did send me to Seattle (Washington State VA) for a consult there (they do the implants in the VA hospital) but I was not happy with their surgical approach. Then a travel nurse called me up and told me a newly assigned surgeon at the local military hospital was available.

Long story short; The VA can send a man to the local community, a military hospital, the VA hospital if they have a qualified surgeon or any associated hospital with a sharing arrangement, usually Federally Funded. For example, tomorrow I am having a prostatectomy done at the Alaska Native Health Care System.

[riseagain]

Dr. Hakky did my implant over a year ago. Couldn't be happier, dog ears have never been a problem. I lost a little length at first but it came back as soon as I was cleared to use my VED.

I wasn't aware that he did the Malleable implant. Think hard and long about what you choose. At your age by going with the inflatable implant you would need a few revisions over the years, not a bad thing. You could always look forward to the latest and greatest implants available .

Whatever you choose you will be in good hands with Dr. Hakky.

[SteveD]

Brothers taking care of Brothers - good to see all the Vets sharing their experience and thoughts. I'll add that a consultation with Dr Hakky should be a great benefit - he's recognized as one of the best in the nation. My bottom line: understand the differences (? pros and cons) between malleable and inflatable (and different manufacturer attributes), talk it over with pros who do hundreds/thousands of implants and recognize the 'intangibles' of how this all affects our psyche. You'll know when you're ready - go for it!
A Mustang who did the 'long tour.'

[Gt1956]

(edited for focus)
Can you share why you chose the AMS , and if you had any issues so far? thanks !

Dealer's choice. My surgeon suggested AMS LGX (and two others I interviewed suggested the same). I also believe that the VA contract did not cover Coloplast devices. You ARE familiar with GSA, right?

At my size (penis size), it could have been a toss-up as a 21cm implant is long enough that the greater stability of the larger diameter of the Coloplast Titan gives an edge in column strength (resistance to buckling). But the Coloplast is definitely overkill (over-engineered) for sex.

Brand & model choice is tough. I'll give you my feelings. But even in the end I didn't get the model that I had a preference for.
I read literally hundreds of posts & kept a mental log of what I learned & what I thought was bs. Afterall we're men & some guys don't seem to be able the talk rationally about their dicks. At first I liked that Boston Scientific, the newish owners of AMS that makes 2 different models. The LGX & the CX. Later Titans seemed best. Partial because at the time there was a dr back east that flooded YouTube with videos. He has since fell from grace & it seems that several members have finally surfaced where he didn't do the great work that he claimed. Btw, in one video he hinted that Titan name was a great selling point. So I eventually drifted back to the AMS brand. I wanted an implant that behave like my youthfull dick. AMS seemed to fit that wish the best. I had former patients for my dr message me when they found out where I lived. They all talked highly of him. He is a company spokesman for them & is in a few YouTube videos. There is a study that throws some shade on the rigidity of the LGX's rigidity being vertically stable. My dr will not install a 21cm LGX. Btw, if I measured for a 21cm I still wanted an LGX. I've yet to read of a member with a 21cm LGX that had trouble. So during surgery I got a CX. It has a lot of things in common with the Titan. Dr's can make last minute decisions. I'm ok with it. Bottom line is all three inflatable implants used in the USA produce an erection that exceeds what you had as a youth.
Some malleables are available here. There isn't much about them that matches my desire for a natural style of a dick & I wouldn't consider one unless an infection was to happen.
Even fear of revisions doesn't sway my view. I have insurance so not a cost fear. Pain is easily treatable also. We men cringe a lot at the thought of someone cutting us there. Get over it.
Find a surgeon that you're comfortable with. They are not all compentent in the implant world. If you decide on a specific brand then you can find a dr that is brand specific. Be aware that almost all well known Titan drs have used a lot of AMS implants in the past. National numbers seem to be that AMS (LGX & CX) out numbers Coloplast (Titan) by around two to one. You can't tell that by this boards views. This board is very pro Titan. Thats ok, Coloplast makes a reasonably good implant.
They all can fail, thats just reality of medical devices. Get used to it. But its my view that based on market share. Titans fail at a slightly higher rate.. I worked with a guy that got one knee replaced & it worked great. His other knee took FIVE implants before he had a good one.
Congratulation on your career. I spent 42 years with the Air Force as a civilian employee. I was able to learn a lot & was involved with some really interesting work. No regrets. Leaving was hard but it was time to go.
Long post but dr & implant choice isn't as simple as it might seem.

My best advice is to vet your dr more than the implant. The best implant can be screwed up by a poor dr. A good dr can make any implant work. Think about this!

[moobiscuits]

Hey all,

A little background, 30-year-old male separating from USAF this DEC 23. I have been struggling with ED since 19yr old due to being overworked + family. I have only been able to have sex until now due to Cialis and diet change.
However the Cialis effects are waning and I don't get natural erections anymore, and when I do it's very weak (penetration not happening).
I am fit, my diet is great no other existing health problems except low testosterone (I got prescribed 100 mg xysoted and still nothing for libido/ drive etc)
I am considering going in for Malleable Tactra, not inflatable I don't want to deal with malfunctions, dog ears etc.
I just want to always be ready when needed and live my life with my spouse.
I've always been a shower (7 1/2 when erect), so the bulge wouldn't be a major issue for my situation
My question is due to my age, would a malleable implant be the way to go? Was looking at going with Tactra and going with Dr. Tariq Hakky, in ATL
My biggest concerns are nerves loss of length and girth, and recovery any advice is appreciated, very nervous about the decision.

TL/DR - Man about to leave USAF, aged 30- Cialis for 10+ years, losing effect - doesn't want 3 piece due to multiple issues/ infections - want mallable implant - will I lose size and how is recovery - located near Thomasville GA

Hey Moobiscuits, I'm a fellow Air Force veteran also, I retired in 1999. I started having ED issues in my early 40's after I retired, this was at the infant stage of Viagra introduction and it worked great for a good while. The pharmacy folks use to call it Blue Diamonds and I bet it was super expensive in those days, then the Air Force went to Cialis while I was in my early 50's which worked well also but in my early 60's it was hit and miss with either Viagra or Cialis.
I never used injections, I'm sort of glad because from the FT forum info that I've read, they caused scaring and possible PD.
I had my implant done at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Tx which is one of the premier military hospitals in the nation, maybe even the best. I had total ED after I had a Boston Scientific Rezum procedure done on my benign enlarged prostrate, but I had already started talking to my urologist about going to the implant.
At the beginning he was going to install the Boston Scientific AMS 700 CX because it is stiffer, but during surgery the Boston Scientific representative and my Doc decided that the AMS 700 LGX would work better in my situation, to help me gain some length back.
There were other urologist surgeons at BAMC that used the coloplast implant but they never talked to me about that product.
I'm sort of glad that I got the LGX, because it is softer material and I haven't had any problems with dog ears or crinkles in the tubes.
I have a average size Dick, I got the 18cm with 3cm rear tip extenders, after about 6 weeks I was only around 5.5 inches but now at two years out I'm back to 6 1/4 inches. I'm very happy that I got the implant. It's been a blessing to have great sex again and not worry about pills, when to take pills, will the pills work, will I stay hard enough the whole time we are having sex.
I would definitely do it again; if you separate and go with the VA, maybe they will give you a referral to see a local urologist in your area. I'm not sure they would let you go to a high volume Doc, but who knows until you ask.
So, you're probably stationed at Moody Air Force Base, I'm not familiar with any of the VA hospitals over there even though I was stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base in the late 80's in the Florida panhandle.
I hope that my journey has helped give you more info to make a decision, but it's up to you.

Good Luck!
S-Works

Thanks for the share brother,
Yout spot on with the steps ive taken so far and i told my uro that if it came to shots then its implant time. Cialis worked wonders for me at the age of 20 when i had my first major ed failure. It was a huge mental attack on me and i carry it with me each time i want to perform sex. Im 30 as stated now, and now at 20mg cialis and my erections are to weak and leave as soon as they came. Ive spoken to the uro in my area and my PCM to get this show on the road and have consultation with the uro in town to see his experience if its low then im going with hakky in atl. I am definitely going to get this done and plan to post my journey here including recovery.

[Italian2]

Hey all,

A little background, 30-year-old male separating from USAF this DEC 23. I have been struggling with ED since 19yr old due to being overworked + family. I have only been able to have sex until now due to Cialis and diet change.
However the Cialis effects are waning and I don't get natural erections anymore, and when I do it's very weak (penetration not happening).
I am fit, my diet is great no other existing health problems except low testosterone (I got prescribed 100 mg xysoted and still nothing for libido/ drive etc)
I am considering going in for Malleable Tactra, not inflatable I don't want to deal with malfunctions, dog ears etc.
I just want to always be ready when needed and live my life with my spouse.
I've always been a shower (7 1/2 when erect), so the bulge wouldn't be a major issue for my situation
My question is due to my age, would a malleable implant be the way to go? Was looking at going with Tactra and going with Dr. Tariq Hakky, in ATL
My biggest concerns are nerves loss of length and girth, and recovery any advice is appreciated, very nervous about the decision.

TL/DR - Man about to leave USAF, aged 30- Cialis for 10+ years, losing effect - doesn't want 3 piece due to multiple issues/ infections - want mallable implant - will I lose size and how is recovery - located near Thomasville GA

Hi brother.
I'm also almost the same age as you and I would like to take the same step with the malleable.
Keep us updated, thanks!

[Jaykhan]

Hi

I'm planning to get a malleable penile prosthesis implant.

Can anyone give me analysis on the results who have had it done.

Also anyone willing to have a phone conversation.

Show pic's, videos or live

[SthAv8tr]

I'm Active right now and plan on staying in a few years. The only thing I could manage to get in my location was a malleable. I talked to a urologist they referred me to, scheduled the surgery, and was a week out before finding this forum. After countless hours of reading and exploring here I decided not to go that route.

I tried to get referrals elsewhere but that was a pain and was claimed the referral I got was the only one they would let perform the surgery.

I then found Dr. Clavell and had a consultation with him 2 days prior to my surgery for the malleable. I ended up cancelling the appointment for surgery the next day and the following day scheduled with Dr. Clavell for the inflatable.

I did have to pay out of pocket some for the procedure but it was well worth it. The wife and I are extremely happy with it and it's been amazing.


Good luck to you!

[Lost Sheep]

(edited for focus)

I tried to get referrals elsewhere but that was a pain and was claimed the referral I got was the only one they would let perform the surgery.

I then found Dr. Clavell and had a consultation with him 2 days prior to my surgery for the malleable. I ended up cancelling the appointment for surgery the next day and the following day scheduled with Dr. Clavell for the inflatable.

good for you for being a strong advocate for yourself. There is no excuse for an active duty person.(or anyone, for that matter.) to be given less than the best “standard of care” recommended by competent medical science. You really should not have to pay out of your own pocket for this, either.

[wolfpacker]

I'm Active right now and plan on staying in a few years. The only thing I could manage to get in my location was a malleable. I talked to a urologist they referred me to, scheduled the surgery, and was a week out before finding this forum. After countless hours of reading and exploring here I decided not to go that route.

I tried to get referrals elsewhere but that was a pain and was claimed the referral I got was the only one they would let perform the surgery.

I then found Dr. Clavell and had a consultation with him 2 days prior to my surgery for the malleable. I ended up cancelling the appointment for surgery the next day and the following day scheduled with Dr. Clavell for the inflatable.

I did have to pay out of pocket some for the procedure but it was well worth it. The wife and I are extremely happy with it and it's been amazing.


Good luck to you!

I'm same boat as you, also active duty and paid for mine out of pocket. Sucks that our active duty healthcare is so bad that we have to pay for these things ourselves lol, still thankful I was financially able to make it happen