JB's implant journal

[jonbaldbg]

52 days post op.

I am now experiencing soreness in the penis mostly where the cylinders sit in the glans. They are properly located about halfway into the glans, so that is good.

I suppose the soreness is due to the fact that I'm cycling twice daily for 20-30 minutes which causes stretching, but I am paranoid and it does concern me. Dr. Kramer assures me that there is will not be pain past 3 months. I'm not quite at 2 months yet, so I hope he is right.

Did any of you experience pain when you started inflating/stretching? I think my clothes press against this part of the penis when I'm sitting and that too may be increasing the soreness a bit.

[jonbaldbg]

57 days post op.

Things are settling down. I'm able to inflate properly and I'm doing that for about 15 minutes twice a day. The glans soreness is better. I've not been pushing the inflation quite as far, but I'm definitely inflating to the point of hardness and stretching.

My insurance approved pre-certification for the revision surgery so that is all set. I have a driver.

I'm told this revision is about a 5-minute procedure, so I'm not anticipating any negative repercussions. I just have to wait and let the scrotal incision heal again. That will be tolerable.

I am going Tuesday to get the pre-surgery blood tests, EKG, etc AGAIN. When I had these tests done prior to the first surgery it had only been about a month since I'd had a physical, but they required that I do these tests within a month of the surgery. So I've done a lot of bloodwork etc this year.

[alibaba]

Test within 30 days is the normal. Lowering pump is fairly simple and straight forward. I read about one guy a few months ago when I was studying options to move mine when Lavine in Chicago said he would move everything instead of a complete tear out. The guys doctor extended the tubing to lower his pump in an in office procedure with all local anesthetics. Said they had a drape up so he could not watch but it was no big deal, the scrub took longer than the cut and splice. Glad things are set to go!

[Jimbruski]

I'm happy things are all in line for your next small procedure. It's amazing the hoops that you have to jump through for a simple procedure. But there all in place for our own safety.

I hope this will be over quickly and that the incision won't' cause too much pain. My incision was scrotally and I hardly had any pain at all.

Good luck and prayers your way!

Jim

[jonbaldbg]

Thanks for the well-wishes gentlemen. I had wondered at first when Dr. Kramer mentioned a 5-minute procedure if it might be done in an office. But not. Dr. Knoll is doing this a the hospital and I have to go through all the pre-surgery prep as I would for a full procedure. I believe it is a simple procedure based on the comments and attitudes of the two doctors. I guess I just wish I didn't have to wait on a scrotal incision to heal again. That will keep me from cycling for a while cause there's no way to avoid that incision and get to the pump, at least not right now. Maybe with the lower pump I will!!

[alibaba]

From an infection standpoint I think you are much better off in the O.R. I only mentioned the guy who had his done in the office to show how simple it is. Get it done and heal well!

[Donnie1954]

Prayers JB,
Sorry you've had problems with your implant. All will be great soon!

[jonbaldbg]

Thanks Donnie,

I think it's going to be fairly simple. This guy in Nashville, Dr. Knoll impresses me and Dr. Kramer that this will be no big deal. He certainly has done a lot of implants and he teaches courses in procedures. I still have to just do as much mental preparation and weigh the options, then trust the surgeon. It's kind of a shame that the insurance is going to have to pay for two procedures. Theoretically you should be able to go back where the first procedure was done and have them fix it free, but I don't think the world of medicine works that way.

[jonbaldbg]

86 days post-op.

Most of my sensitivity in the shaft and head are gone and things are starting to feel normal for the most part. As I've said before, I ended up with the pump too high and the tubes are on the left, so at that point, I get a bit sore when inflating fully. The tubes are in the way of full insertion during intercourse, so things have to change. Although Dr. Kramer initially said, "to the left" is absolutely no problem and the "too high" was not optimal but ok, I continued to correspond with him about that. He mentioned that a 5-minute procedure could fix it and I decided I want that.
Rather than return to Baltimore, we agreed that I would go to Dr. Knoll in Nashville who is another long-time high volume surgeon, very experienced. He is the one AMS sends revisions to. Although he is infra-public when doing implants, he will be going in scrotally to do my revision. I believe it only involves moving tubing, splicing, and relocating the pump. If needed, he will replace the pump.

I go to Nashville Thursday morning at 5:30 for the 7:30 surgery. Although it's only an hour and I could have driven home later in the afternoon (not right after hospital release) I am spending the night in a motel and coming back the next day.

I don't expect swelling or a lot of post-op trauma since it is a short procedure, but you never know what to expect. Dr. Knoll says it will be 4 weeks before I can use it. Dr. Kramer said he thought one week would be enough. I do know that Dr. Knoll is more conservative in his instructions to patients.

I will give you guys an update and maybe a pic of the stitches post-op.

[Jimbruski]

Best of luck JB!! I'll be praying for you on Thursday!

Jim