At the beginning stage

[Ready737]

Hello to all. I'm a soon to be fifty year old that had my prostate removed in May 09, and hoped my erection would return. Since I'm here you know it has not. I have my first consultation on Feb 9. I'm excited about getting an implant but I'm also afraid. I wonder what all will go wrong if anything. I have experienced major shrinkage and am wondering is any of the size will be returned. I do enjoy the orgasms I have (alone) and wonder once I'm able to have sex will I still feel the same. There are so many questions that I have. If anyone can help me through their experience I would appreciate it very much.
Thank you all in advance
Ready737

[Cajun Jeff]

Ready: you can feel free to ask all the questions here. Every guy is different the healing is different and the outcomes are different. Many have great outcomes others have some porblems. Best of luck in your quest to be normal.

Cajun Jeff

[texas johnny]

737
You came to the right place. First I would suggest you buying a penile pump and get the blood flow back in your penis so you dont have any further shrinkage. I had prostate surgery Oct 2000 and experienced shrinkage as well. My surgeon kept telling me "give your body a chance to heal,your erections will come back". Fortunately these Docs know better now and start you on Viagra or one on the daily ones now to keep the blood flow going. I did pills,pump,and injections and now have the AMS700. This was the best decision I have ever made. MY Mrs. and I could not be happier. Do be careful,do your homework and find the surgeon that has put HUNDREDS of these in. You dont want the Doc that does 3 or 3 a month. You want the Doc that does 10 to 15 a week. There are lots of horror stories out there and I am not convinced that Its all the Docs fault. When you get your implant do EXACTLY what you are told and your recovery will go fine.
I would like to wish you well. Welcome to Frank Talk.
Texas Johnny

[ariadne]

My experience with the implant AMS700LGX has been good. Please go to page 16 (maybe 17 by the time you log on) to read a brief summary of my experience. Bottom reight hand corner of the FT page gives you the page numbers. One unusual (apparently) thing about my experience was the lack of pain--some discomfort, yes, but no real pain after leaving the hospital. I went to the hospital fully confident that this was a good move more me and my wife. And, yes, turned out that way. I hope for a good experience for you. Please ask questions; many men ready to reply.

[bob1138]

Welcome Ready,

We have similar histories in that we both had to deal with Prostate Cancer and ED.
First, I would suggest you see a Urologist who specializes in the treatment of male sexual dysfunction.
He will probably run a Doppler Test to check if there is sufficient blood flow to your penis.
The two main causes of ED are insufficient blood flow (arterial insufficiency) and venous leakage.
If the “normal” treatments for ED, e.g., Viagra, etc., Urethral Suppositories (MUSE), Vacuum Pump (VED) and Penile Injections (Trimix) fail to give you an erection which is suitable for intercourse, you may want to consider a Penile Implant.
I suggest you choose your surgeon wisely and ask to speak with some of his Implant patients.

I developed ED Post-Prostatectomy in February 2004 at age 65 and had never experienced any ED problem prior to that.
The above “normal” treatments for ED did not work for me.
After much research and having the opportunity to speak with 2 men who underwent the Coloplast Titan Penile Implant Procedure, I had my Titan Implant Procedure December 13, 2007.
I had battled with ED for over 3 years at that point.
I was blessed in that the Titan Penile Implant completely corrected my ED and restored both my sex life and the emotional intimacy with my wife of 45 years.
I was concerned that I might lose sensitivity in my penis, however, I actually have more sensitivity in my penis now than before my Titan Implant Procedure. I attribute this to the fact that the surface blood vessels and nerve endings are not affected by the Procedure and a healthy blood flow is maintained to the surface of the penis.

I became a Coloplast Patient Educator in January 2008 in order to share my Pre-Implant and Post-Implant experiences with men still suffering from ED and its devastating side effects.
I just celebrated the Fourth Anniversary of my Titan Implant December 13th and my wife and I love it.
I am also Co-Chairman of the UsToo Prostate Cancer Support Group at Hackensack University
Medical Center in New Jersey. This is an International Organization for Prostate Cancer Survivors.
You may go to www.ustoo,org to find a chapter near you. I highly recommend this Group to all my
fellow Prostate Cancer Survivors.

The FT Group has a bunch of great guys who are always willing to reach out to other men suffering with ED. Take advantage of the wealth of knowledge that exists in this Group.
Never hesitate to ask a question or express a concern. You are among friends here.
Also, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or just want to talk.

Bob

[dmikesaw]

Best of luck to you; but just remember that even the best surgeon and preparation does not always guarantee a good result...... Hope for the best, but plan for something a little bit less than that (just in case).

[LGX_Man]

or in my case, Plan for the best and then WORK IT WORK IT WORK IT to make it the best ... And then it will be!

[dmikesaw]

I expected to be thicker, but am quite a bit thinner
I expected to be a little shorter but am almost 2" shorter
I expected minimal floppy head but have a lot of floppy head
I didn't know about possible loss of sensitivity but got a lot of it (that is the worst part for me)

Good luck ......

[Dave48003]

Mike - I think you are the exception, not the rule. Most of us have had results just the opposite of yours, and the statistics generally favor more positive results. Yes, I got an infection, but we got it cleared up. I had some issues with the pump sticking, but I worked it loose. I wasn't concerned about girth, but I gained slightly. I was hoping to lose no more than 1/2" in length, I've actually gained about that much. My doctor did a great job and got the cylinders out into the glans and my head is anything but floppy. I was very concerned about sensitivity, as I had already lost a lot, but my mentors told me not to worry, and I trusted them and I agree, its not a issue. It does feel different, but it still feels as good or better than before.

My personal take on your experience is that your doc must have had an off day. All of the issues you state except sensitivity all relate to properly sizing the implant. I joked with my doc before surgery "Don't short change me, I don't have much to spare!" He laughed and did a great job.

If I was in your position, me and the doc would be having some serious discussions! I think that anyone who is going into this surgery must have a positive outlook. If I were convinced my outcome would not be what I wanted, I doubt I would have surgery. Know the facts, know the percentages, and most of all know your surgeon. Weigh your concerns against the percentages and make a decision. If you have the attitude that you are destined to be one of the 3% or 5% or whatever, I'd say find another way.

[rlm1818]

According to the AMS 700 instruction manual, the revision rate for AMS products (Ultrex, CX, LGX) runs around 10%. The manual further states than since not every revision surgery is reported to AMS, the reported rates may understate the rate of revisions. I don't have comparable statistics for the Titan, but have no reason to believe Titan would be different. Titan literature states than installation of a Titan is contraindicated for patients unable or unwilling to undergo revision surgery.

As far as I can tell, many problems people encounter can be corrected or mitigated with revision surgery. However, certainly not all. The part of Mike's repeated narrative that is missing, for me anyway, is which of his problems could be corrected or mitigated by revision surgery. His warning that not everyone gets a great result is valid and helpful. But, when I made the decision to go ahead, I knew (and still know, since its still early for me) that if I encountered a suboptimal result that revision surgery was a possible fallback scenario, and that the risk of it was not trivial.

So Mike, have you explored the option of a surgical fix? If so, what are the doctors saying? If you haven't explored it, or are unwilling to explore it, perhaps you shouldn't have had the implant to begin with?