Dr. Ralf Herwig claims that he cures Venous Leak

[Echegollen]

Its pretty usual for private specialists to write back directly. As an example I looked into vein stripping a few years ago and contacted the doctor in Taiwan via his direct mail. He sent me a lot of information and was very attentive whilst very much unique in his field like Dr Herwig. Coincidently I opted to not go for this surgery in the end because it costed around £10K (c$15kUSD) whilst 8-9 hours laying in theatre under a local anaesthetic didn't really appeal too much!

As for the London Andrology Institute I think they are affiliated with Dr Herwig's clinic in Vienna because I know that Dr Kuehhas who originally assessed me in London works from both clinics and has been very much part of the development of this surgical technique.

If you think about it London is a gateway to Europe from the rest of the world and has a huge reputation for private medical practice in Harley Street so It makes sense they refer from there.

Gollam121

Dr. Herwig told me he is the original inventor of this procedure. I'd feel more confident going with the inventor than those who copied.. Wouldn't you?

Also, he told me the intervention would cost me 3500E. How much is the London Andrology Institute charging you?

[gollam121]

Dr. Herwig told me he is the original inventor of this procedure. I'd feel more confident going with the inventor than those who copied.. Wouldn't you?

Also, he told me the intervention would cost me 3500E. How much is the London Andrology Institute charging you?[/quote]

I think reading through Razors and Seeking's posts that both Dr Herwig and Kuehhas performed the surgery together so I guess they drum up additional business in London and bring all suitable candidates over to Vienna.

Mines a little bit more based on I require the extra scan because as mentioned I have no deep dorsal vein after my 1997 ligation surgery so they need to better understand where the leaks coming from. Also you have gone direct so you may have a better price.

Regards
Gollam121

[Seeking]

I was told the reason for the surgery being in Vienna was apparently as simple as "they could not fit the X-ray machine in the London clinic [where I think they do most of their implant surgeries] and therefore they had to move it over to Vienna and have the sclerotherapy procedures done there". I didn't ask about this any further, just thought I'd "go with it" so to speak.

Today it's been 5 weeks post-op for me. I would say that the procedure has taken me from about 25-30% to around 80% given how I am at the current time, and I haven't taken Cialis for 4 days which means today is a 'Cialis free' snapshot of how things are. Restoration of psychogenic erections are the part I am most pleased with, although in general things are working better down there with regards to rigidity and everything else. In the 2 weeks following the procedure I was honestly at about 110% of my pre-ED ability - I could ejaculate and then instantly get an ultra rock-on straight afterwards...but I think 4 years worth of pent up frustration coupled with Cialis may have contributed towards that. Needless to say, it was monumental, but that's abated somewhat now.

There's a big caveat to the above - the skin around my surgical scar is so stubborn and inflexible (which is normal for a surgical site I've been told) it's still very tender and I cannot put on a condom (or realistically, have sex - as this will stretch the skin on the shaft). Talking to two GPs, they have told me it will take 1-3 months for the wound to completely revert back to being like 'normal skin' again, which I'm pretty unhappy about to be honest. Mentally, I've already put myself 3-6 months into the future however (when I am assuming the positive effects of this procedure will have faded) and am already researching penile implants, as I simply haven't got the energy left to be playing the "I hope I get hard if I use a PDE5 tonight" game and I really just want a penis that works. For the past 3 years and 9 months I've managed very well psychologically to manage this condition, but since around May 2015 (when I suddenly became much less responsive to PDE5s) something inside me has changed and I'm completely sick of sex being such a psychological burden when it should be a complete breeze. I'm also finding it difficult not to obsess over this condition daily.

Gollam - I find it fascinating that even though the main vein of your penis was taken care of in 1997 that somehow your leak has persisted...it will be very interesting to see how this procedure goes for you. Whether the origin of our problems are venous or due to smooth muscle relaxation problems (as is hotly debated), it'll be interesting to see what they find on your venogram.

Any more questions hit me up.

Seeking.

[Echegollen]

Today it's been 5 weeks post-op for me. I would say that the procedure has taken me from about 25-30% to around 80% given how I am at the current time, and I haven't taken Cialis for 4 days which means today is a 'Cialis free' snapshot of how things are. Restoration of psychogenic erections are the part I am most pleased with, although in general things are working better down there with regards to rigidity and everything else. In the 2 weeks following the procedure I was honestly at about 110% of my pre-ED ability - I could ejaculate and then instantly get an ultra rock-on straight afterwards...but I think 4 years worth of pent up frustration coupled with Cialis may have contributed towards that. Needless to say, it was monumental, but that's abated somewhat now.

There's a big caveat to the above - the skin around my surgical scar is so stubborn and inflexible (which is normal for a surgical site I've been told) it's still very tender and I cannot put on a condom (or realistically, have sex - as this will stretch the skin on the shaft). Talking to two GPs, they have told me it will take 1-3 months for the wound to completely revert back to being like 'normal skin' again, which I'm pretty unhappy about to be honest. Mentally, I've already put myself 3-6 months into the future however (when I am assuming the positive effects of this procedure will have faded) and am already researching penile implants, as I simply haven't got the energy left to be playing the "I hope I get hard if I use a PDE5 tonight" game and I really just want a penis that works. For the past 3 years and 9 months I've managed very well psychologically to manage this condition, but since around May 2015 (when I suddenly became much less responsive to PDE5s) something inside me has changed and I'm completely sick of sex being such a psychological burden when it should be a complete breeze. I'm also finding it difficult not to obsess over this condition daily.

Seeking.

It's just too bad that you couldn't take advantage of the period 2 weeks following the procedure when you were at 110%... I understand that it's too early to have intercourse 2 weeks post op but do you think a blow job is possible? I mean if this 110% erection quality only last a few weeks, I'd really want to be able to enjoy it a little before the effet goes away...

Thank you so much for the update. I couldn't wait to hear from you. I find it pretty encouraging to see the improvement you've had since the procedure. I am sorry to hear about the frustration you have because of the wound left by the procedure. However, I can't believe the doctor who performed the procedure didn't tell you about it... Did he not?

Why do you think the effect of this procedure will have faded after 3-6 months?

[Echegollen]

something inside me has changed and I'm completely sick of sex being such a psychological burden when it should be a complete breeze. I'm also finding it difficult not to obsess over this condition daily.

I feel your pain my friend. I feel the exact same way...

[gollam121]

Many thanks for the update Seeking and hopefully the tightness and soreness will abate in quick time.

If you would allow I thought I would explain my back story to give you all a better insight to what I’ve gone through over the last 20 years or so struggling with ED to try and help and give you younger guys some encouragement.

It’s understandable the way you feel Seeking and particularly when you’re venous leak presented itself after years of erection normality. You are also younger than me and I’m guessing currently single? If not the case then I apologise now for making assumptions. With regards to me I’m married to a very understanding woman so feel blessed that I have her support on my journey with ED. It wasn’t always like this and with my first wife who I was with for 14 years and to whom I had 3 children it became the elephant in room and likely contributed to her affair and our separation back in 2011.
I can’t remember what it is like to have a 100% and long lasting erection’s because I have a blurred memory that this may have been in my early teens when things went wrong, I’m 40 now so as you can see a long time ago! I knew I had issues from around 16/17 as this is the age that you experiment, believe me I had many embarrassing interludes but became very hardened to it (no pun intended!). My friends and family never knew and I only confided in my father 4 years ago when I was living with my parents for a short period after my first marriage ended, aside from this only my first wife and current wife know albeit I have played down some of the facts with my current spouse as we have only been together 3.5 years and I want things to be more about moving forward than looking back.

The last 3.5 years in terms of our sex life have been great because I discovered low cost ED pills online back in 2012!! Believe me the first two years together I have never had such great sex and tried different positions and lasted so long, however I have to accept I was pumped up to the max on the highest strength PD5’s and sometimes mixed 100mg generic Viagra with 20mg Cialis which I can get through prescription. I’m not condoning this one bit because in truth it’s reckless and lord knows what damage I have potentially caused?? Although my wife’s knows I use these drugs she doesn’t know the excess to which I have gone but the reality is I can’t get a sufficient erection without pills. I have tried injections in the past with mixed results although not for a couple of years now. Recently I tried the suppository Gel on two occasion’s; the first result was great, the second not so well but again I supplemented this with a pill!

After I realised I had ED I went to see the Urologist at my local hospital back in 1997, back in those days Viagra was still a year off from general release in the UK and I think doctors then where reluctant to dish out injections to a young men, therefore I was assessed both physically and mentally but thank god my specialist quickly grasped the nettle and wanted to conduct a cavonosagram to see what was happening. The scan showed I had a venous leak and he proposed ligation surgery. I was told that the chances of success after 12 months where less than 40% however I was desperate to try anything because I had met the girl who went on to be my first wife. The funny thing I was living with my parents at the time, they actually came to the hospital thinking I was having a burst vein removed from my stomach! The lies I told back to keep my so called dignity…..ridiculous!!!

Post opp I was in a lot of pain and had to stay in hospital another night. My surgeon said the opp had gone well but reminded me of the stats again but said time will tell. I was sore and swollen for what felt like couple weeks but again it was a long time ago. What I do remember is that my erections improved for about 5 weeks then very quickly I noticed things revert back to the previous state maybe plus 20%. Before the opp I could get a 90% erection but this would last 10 seconds without stimulation. I would say post opp I was still at 90% but it would last maybe 40 seconds! As you can see I don’t know what normal natural erections look like! To your question Seeking to why it didn’t work I think it’s because unlike Sclerotherapy the leaking veins aren’t totally collapsed, they are stripped and tied off so I guess there’s more opportunity for them to grow back but I’m not totally sure albeit the poor percentage for success and the fact not many specialists offer this surgery anymore tells you a lot.

The good news is I went on to move in with my girlfriend, married her and had children. The only downside which I think I made more of than her was the quick 2 minute sex which was heavily supported by a lot of foreplay because I would still lose my erection. We did love each other but I made sex too much of a big issue which in the resulted in putting her off bedroom play in the last 3 years of our marriage. I will be clear that my ED wasn’t the biggest or only reason for our break up but it did play a part because it clouded my thinking in others areas of the relationship.
This all said I think I’ve made a success of my life and have decent job with 3 great kids of my own and now a wonderful second wife and step daughter, this said ED has impacted more than I ‘d like to admit because it’s always there and think without the mental distraction I could have gone onto do even better things in life although I’m certainly more on the front foot in my current relationship because I’m older and wiser which has led to a more pragmatic approach to my ED because I am what I am or so the song goes!

I know I’ve rambled on a bit but I wanted to share with you my experience and how I have tackled things. Dealing with ED is like having a part time job on top of everything else we have to deal with in life so totally understand your frustrations Seeking and Echegollen. My advice to you Seeking is be patient and as hard as it is try and look positively at the pioneering surgery you have just had. Of course the Cialis was going to present a false position whilst you are still healing and the stress of it all won’t make you feel like a porn star at this point in time. You did the right thing but if in the longer term you don’t get the result you want then please go straight in for the implant because you need to get on with your life and not have this constant worry. This said I remain positive you will yield good benefits from having sclerothreapy.

For me I fly to Vienna next Tuesday for my CT Cavonosagram, if it’s deemed from this that I can’t have the surgery then so be it, at least I have explored the option and I can then move onto planning for my implant. If I can have the surgery then this will take place on the Wednesday and I will see what benefits it brings which for me as an older guy would be somewhere like coming off high dose ED pills and being able to move to daily Cialis which would at least give me my spontaneity back.

Good luck to you both and try to remember we have options available to us and we Will all find a final solution for our ED.

I will report back next week after my Vienna trip.

Regards
Gollam121

[C_lab34]

Thanks Gollam and Seeking for the great, informative posts. It really does feel like a brotherhood here, as we're all struggling with very similar rare conditions that most of the world can't relate to, and that we can't openly discuss. Gollam your history, except for the marriage and children, sounds a lot like mine. I knew something was wrong at about 16-17, I still managed to have good sex, even though I was always worried about my performance, and I need pills to have decently hard and durable erections. I too think that some of my relationships have ended, at least in part, because of my ED. Not so much from the actual physical state of things, but because of the mood it often put me in, which is basically what you said. So I get that. I have also spent, probably the more accurate word would be wasted, hours and hours researching treatment and reading testimonials. I read through a hundred page thread on Geng Long Hsu, the vein stripping pioneer who designed a radical version of the ligation surgery. At first I was filled with hope and dreamed of getting the procedure, but as I looked into it further and thought more on it, it didn't seem viable. It seems to be such a brutal surgery, with absolutely no guarantee of improvement or cure. And now this sclerotherapy, while much more mild and less invasive surgically, also gave me initial hope which is already fading. I do not at all mean to denigrate Seeking or Razor or anyone else who has given this a chance. I commend their bravery. But honestly I don't know if I have it in me to have a surgery that doesn't help much, or not at all.

It's the psychological effect that, as Seeking has already mentioned, has taken such a toll, and that makes even attempting to cure this condition such a burden. The truth is that I will most likely never know what a natural, full, long lasting erection feels like, and the years of failure and fear of failure are so deeply ingrained into my mind that only the absolute dependability of a mechanically assisted erection from and implant could give me the complete relief I desire. Even then, it will be downright strange to not have to tend to my erection constantly, and I will need time to psychologically adjust and become, what really will be in some ways, a new person. If I am "cured" through an experimental surgery with a poor track record and no long term success rates, even with collapsed veins it will still be my anatomy and functioning, which I have over the years learned to not trust. All that being said, I really do hope that those that have undergone this procedure will achieve at least some satisfaction.

[dg_moore]

Thanks Gollam and Seeking for the great, informative posts. It really does feel like a brotherhood here, as we're all struggling with very similar rare conditions that most of the world can't relate to, and that we can't openly discuss. Gollam your history, except for the marriage and children, sounds a lot like mine. I knew something was wrong at about 16-17, I still managed to have good sex, even though I was always worried about my performance, and I need pills to have decently hard and durable erections. I too think that some of my relationships have ended, at least in part, because of my ED. Not so much from the actual physical state of things, but because of the mood it often put me in, which is basically what you said. So I get that. I have also spent, probably the more accurate word would be wasted, hours and hours researching treatment and reading testimonials. I read through a hundred page thread on Geng Long Hsu, the vein stripping pioneer who designed a radical version of the ligation surgery. At first I was filled with hope and dreamed of getting the procedure, but as I looked into it further and thought more on it, it didn't seem viable. It seems to be such a brutal surgery, with absolutely no guarantee of improvement or cure. And now this sclerotherapy, while much more mild and less invasive surgically, also gave me initial hope which is already fading. I do not at all mean to denigrate Seeking or Razor or anyone else who has given this a chance. I commend their bravery. But honestly I don't know if I have it in me to have a surgery that doesn't help much, or not at all.

It's the psychological effect that, as Seeking has already mentioned, has taken such a toll, and that makes even attempting to cure this condition such a burden. The truth is that I will most likely never know what a natural, full, long lasting erection feels like, and the years of failure and fear of failure are so deeply ingrained into my mind that only the absolute dependability of a mechanically assisted erection from and implant could give me the complete relief I desire. Even then, it will be downright strange to not have to tend to my erection constantly, and I will need time to psychologically adjust and become, what really will be in some ways, a new person. If I am "cured" through an experimental surgery with a poor track record and no long term success rates, even with collapsed veins it will still be my anatomy and functioning, which I have over the years learned to not trust. All that being said, I really do hope that those that have undergone this procedure will achieve at least some satisfaction.

Get an implant. It is proven, and virtually guaranteed, with a long track record of success.

[Oxford]

Hi guys,
Im new here. Please forgive the way I express my self english is not my the language I usually use. Thank you for all the information. Is very nice to here people who have had the same or very similar problems.
Several days ago I did and Eco Doppler and I have vein leak and low pump measures in my artery (half what a normal 50 years old should have). I have been the last 15 years with ED, getting worst in the last 5. Viagra dosent work very well and Im going to try Cialis. I also visited many Urologysts and till some weeks ago nobody requested me to do and Eco.
Im Reading carefully all your posts and I would like to know how are Gollan and Seeking doing with Dr Herwig in the last days.
Thanks

[Oxford]

One last thing:
I wiss you guys the best wiht Dr Herwig, Im waiting to see how are you doing in the coming months. We should also consider if this technique or similar is done in the near future in some of the best Hospitals around the world to prove the effectiveness.