Dr. Kramer, Baltimore

[alibaba]

jonbaldbg, thanks for the picture. I argued this should be on there with Vanderbilt and the AMS rep but they said it was done by nurses and most often never recorded by anyone. I still think if there was a recall or a lawsuit, this information would be important. I hope your revision goes well. I doubt unless they do an MRI or similar they will be able to see what you have. To move the pump there will be no need to cut into the cavernosa where the cylinders and extenders would be. The extenders have a different shape than the cylinders and would show up solid on a scan. Cheers.

[jonbaldbg]

jonbaldbg, thanks for the picture. I argued this should be on there with Vanderbilt and the AMS rep but they said it was done by nurses and most often never recorded by anyone. I still think if there was a recall or a lawsuit, this information would be important. I hope your revision goes well. I doubt unless they do an MRI or similar they will be able to see what you have. To move the pump there will be no need to cut into the cavernosa where the cylinders and extenders would be. The extenders have a different shape than the cylinders and would show up solid on a scan. Cheers.

Thanks alibaba. I was hoping that since the cylinders and RTEs have a different shape that the doctor would be able to feel them while he's in there working and determine if there are indeed RTEs in place. But I'll survive one way or the other.

[alibaba]

The extenders are more of a long taper for the longer ones I have seen so maybe a good feeling up might be able to help throw some light too. I have no extenders according to the students that came in to talk to me. As you know, my card tells me nothing just like the records Vanderbilt sent me. I can feel my perineal cylinders pump up fat. They actually get fatter there than in my penis. Bigger around than my thumb. Pump that sucker up and feel down there. The part that does not pump up may be an extender. Just a thought. Best of luck on your revision. Everyone deserves the best. Cheers.

[jonbaldbg]

The extenders are more of a long taper for the longer ones I have seen so maybe a good feeling up might be able to help throw some light too. I have no extenders according to the students that came in to talk to me. As you know, my card tells me nothing just like the records Vanderbilt sent me. I can feel my perineal cylinders pump up fat. They actually get fatter there than in my penis. Bigger around than my thumb. Pump that sucker up and feel down there. The part that does not pump up may be an extender. Just a thought. Best of luck on your revision. Everyone deserves the best. Cheers.

Thanks, man. Dr. Knoll said he'd try to feel around and see if he could determine the extenders but he didn't want to open up the cavernosal which could increase the chances of infection. I wrote him back and totally agreed. No cutting!! I'll try myself to poke around like you suggested. My surgery is scheduled for Dec. 29 so it will make it on this year's insurance. Yay!!

[alibaba]

Yippee to this years insurance. I was thinking last night that I have never gotten anything done as far as a revision this year and roll over time is close. You would think that one of the top 2 doctors in the U.S. would take United Healthcare, one of the largest insurers in the nation but they don't.

[ccrider]

If I get this done, which I probably will, it sounds like Dr. Kramer is a very good doctor to go with.

Can I hear from other patients of his?

Just had my surgery w/ Dr. Kramer on 12/7/16. I'm from a family of doctors, so I know "Old School" care/patient empathy when I see it...in addition to being a world class surgeon, Dr. Kramer is a truly caring individual who listened to/answered all my questions & concerns about the surgery. His surgical/anesthesia team is absolutely top notch as were the nurses in the recovery areas. I was mildly apprehensive about coming into Baltimore (simply because I had never been there nor did I have any knowledge as to the safety of various neighborhoods), but insofar as I'm from a Midwestern city whose reputation makes Baltimore pale by comparison, I wasn't worried. The University of Maryland hospital has an excellent shuttle service which will pick you up from your hotel and drop you off after you leave the recovery room...you'll feel completely safe. It's a world-class University hospital facility.

I had the surgery Wednesday...it's Friday and I have very little pain anywhere. Came back with a Percocet prescription but only took three...now I'm using Motrin occasionally. The biggest discomfort/pain I had to deal with was the Foley catheter/urine bag which you are supposed to keep connected until the next morning...that was a severe drag & odd to watch it fill up with urine...easy to drain, however & my recovery nurse gave me thorough instructions as to how to remove it...was expecting to scream but it was virtually painless pulling it out. Also had a problem w/ nausea due to anesthesia...felt like I was motion sick for about 4 hours...stayed in the recovery room until I felt well enough to move...nausea vanished by the time the shuttle dropped me off at the hotel.

Dr. Kramer measured me the day before during my office pre-op visit and was amazed at the amount of stretch I had. Told him I was amazed at my own stretch/girth back when Viagra worked. Said the AMS 700 LGX was what he recommended for maximum length/girth. Went with his recommendation. You leave with about 20% pumped in order to prevent scar tissue from impeding your full inflation/activation in a few weeks...it looks great now length-wise...can only imagine what it's gonna be like at liftoff. I have lost absolutely nothing in length & it's supposed to significantly increase when I start cycling it.

I had been considering the implant for several years...my insurance wouldn't cover it until late 2013. I did the research on both the infrapubic vs. scrotal incision method & decided that the scrotal method seemed to be the most logical way to proceed (seems as though most of the problematic operations I read about were done using the infrapubic method). I also lurked here on Frank Talk & found it to be extremely helpful in deciding which method/surgeon to choose. While my internist was of the belief that the operation was pretty simple and that there were excellent surgeons in my Midwest city who were well-qualified & would do a great job, the more I researched this operation & results obtained therefrom, it seemed that the degree of patient satisfaction correlated to whether in fact the doctor was a high-volume penile implant specialist. There appeared also to be a certain art to it as well which a surgeon would only gain/practice by doing thousands of the implants. Dr. Kramer had the absolute best patient satisfaction of any surgeon by far. Decided to go with him & I'm glad I did...will be coming back next month to have him activate the device...makes sense...he installed it!

Bottom line: go with experience, surgical skill/art and "Old School" doctor/patient/empathy...IMHO, Kramer deserves the accolades he receives on Frank Talk & elsewhere...one great guy who also happens to be a world-class surgeon with the experience of thousands of implant procedures to his credit. I'm sure there are plenty of excellent surgeons out there, but I'd consult w/ Kramer before you make a move. He's the current gold standard. At my age, I wanted to do this once, but the great thing about Dr. Kramer is that he's in his mid-40's & will hopefully be practicing when I need a revision/repair/new installation.

[jonbaldbg]

If I get this done, which I probably will, it sounds like Dr. Kramer is a very good doctor to go with.

Can I hear from other patients of his?

Just had my surgery w/ Dr. Kramer on 12/7/16. I'm from a family of doctors, so I know "Old School" care/patient empathy when I see it...in addition to being a world-class surgeon, Dr. Kramer is a truly caring individual who listened to/answered all my questions & concerns about the surgery. His surgical/anesthesia team is absolutely top notch as were the nurses in the recovery areas. I was mildly apprehensive about coming into Baltimore (simply because I had never been there nor did I have any knowledge as to the safety of various neighborhoods), but insofar as I'm from a Midwestern city whose reputation makes Baltimore pale by comparison, I wasn't worried. The University of Maryland hospital has an excellent shuttle service which will pick you up from your hotel and drop you off after you leave the recovery room...you'll feel completely safe. It's a world-class University hospital facility.

I had the surgery Wednesday...it's Friday and I have very little pain anywhere. Came back with a Percocet prescription but only took three...now I'm using Motrin occasionally. The biggest discomfort/pain I had to deal with was the Foley catheter/urine bag which you are supposed to keep connected until the next morning...that was a severe drag & odd to watch it fill up with urine...easy to drain, however & my recovery nurse gave me thorough instructions as to how to remove it...was expecting to scream but it was virtually painless pulling it out. Also had a problem w/ nausea due to anesthesia...felt like I was motion sick for about 4 hours...stayed in the recovery room until I felt well enough to move...nausea vanished by the time the shuttle dropped me off at the hotel.

Dr. Kramer measured me the day before during my office pre-op visit and was amazed at the amount of stretch I had. Told him I was amazed at my own stretch/girth back when Viagra worked. Said the AMS 700 LGX was what he recommended for maximum length/girth. Went with his recommendation. You leave with about 20% pumped in order to prevent scar tissue from impeding your full inflation/activation in a few weeks...it looks great now length-wise...can only imagine what it's gonna be like at liftoff. I have lost absolutely nothing in length & it's supposed to significantly increase when I start cycling it.

I had been considering the implant for several years...my insurance wouldn't cover it until late 2013. I did the research on both the infrapubic vs. scrotal incision method & decided that the scrotal method seemed to be the most logical way to proceed (seems as though most of the problematic operations I read about were done using the infrapubic method). I also lurked here on Frank Talk & found it to be extremely helpful in deciding which method/surgeon to choose. While my internist was of the belief that the operation was pretty simple and that there were excellent surgeons in my Midwest city who were well-qualified & would do a great job, the more I researched this operation & results obtained therefrom, it seemed that the degree of patient satisfaction correlated to whether in fact the doctor was a high-volume penile implant specialist. There appeared also to be a certain art to it as well which a surgeon would only gain/practice by doing thousands of the implants. Dr. Kramer had the absolute best patient satisfaction of any surgeon by far. Decided to go with him & I'm glad I did...will be coming back next month to have him activate the device...makes sense...he installed it!

Bottom line: go with experience, surgical skill/art and "Old School" doctor/patient/empathy...IMHO, Kramer deserves the accolades he receives on Frank Talk & elsewhere...one great guy who also happens to be a world-class surgeon with the experience of thousands of implant procedures to his credit. I'm sure there are plenty of excellent surgeons out there, but I'd consult w/ Kramer before you make a move. He's the current gold standard. At my age, I wanted to do this once, but the great thing about Dr. Kramer is that he's in his mid-40's & will hopefully be practicing when I need a revision/repair/new installation.

ccrider,

Our stories are almost parallel except I didn't have nausea. The catheter was the worst part of it to me too.

I have an interesting situation, though. I was and still am fond of Dr. Kramer. I sang his praises like no one else I know of. In spite of that, I am having to have a revision. He has stayed in touch with me and would have done the revision, but there is a doctor he really respects one hour from me in Nashville who has actually done more implants than Kramer has. This guy is also 20 years old, so that explains. Dr. Knoll is an infra-pubic guy, so obviously there are great surgeons that go that way. Perhaps that was more popular when he started? I'm not sure. Dr. Kramer has really communicated with me whereas he could have made excuses and copped out. He hasn't explained why this happened, but he did tell me there was an easy, five-minute revision that would fix the problem. He has also communicated with Dr. Knoll and they are on the same page and Kramer feels really good about having me go to Knoll.

I still have great respect for Dr. Kramer and his body of work, but I guess no one is perfect and I'm having to have his surgery revised. I'm not pissed and wouldn't hesitate to recommend him, but I am a little disappointed and frankly surprised that this happened. I can't guess why it would have happened either. Go figure.

[alibaba]

One possibility I have why your pump may have ended up high is your reservoir moved. Mine moved all over the place for about 2 months. At the time I was in Chicago, Dr. Levine said he could not find it. Sometimes it was clear where it was from the bulge. If your reservoir floated up, maybe pushed up above your bladder for example, that would pull the reservoir up by the tubing. Just a though. I wonder if they cut the tubing length after the reservoir has been filled? Was this a preconnected kit? AMS has an ad for doctors stating kits come preconnected to make it easier for doctors or the standard kits in components.

[strongagain]

Didn't Kramer also botched c_lab (maybe wrong spelling)?

[stiffupperlip]

I don't know that he botched him but c_lab wasn't happy with the pump placement. That seems to be an issue for some of Kramer's patients.