Is this normal? Very noticeable tubing... (UPDATE, No, it's not)

[charlesr]

I am not a medical professional. That being said, I have a Titan implant and I am familiar with the design of the unit. So here goes: I am guessing that this is the point of entry via the tubing into the cylinders from the pump/reservoir. It looks like it is rotated to be at the top. It also seems that there may have been too many rear tip extenders (RTE's) with too small of an implant. It seems that the cylinders are too small and to make up for it there were more RTE's placed in the rear; making the point of entry too far forward. Another opinion. The surgeon may not have had a good inventory of implants and had made a bad guess initially. As a result, a shorter implant was put in with the greater number of RTE's to make up for the lack of length. And to make matters worse, the entry point is at the top. I can feel mine off to the side.

Take this with a grain of salt. This is just conjecture on my part. However, it is a viable hypothesis that really lends itself to having you go to a DIFFERENT urologist.

[stringerbell]

Actually very interesting you say that- as I've mentioned as a regular "troll" or Dr. Kramer's vidoes, he posted this exact scenario, tubing palpable next to the penis exactly like yours, and then all the steps he took to fix it. I'm not a doctor but I think what he did is totally remove the reservoir or balloon, totally remove the pump, leave the penis part, and replaced those other 2 parts and did a burying of tubing. It's here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14DrBxQxCZA

Calls it something corny like all about tubings but it's spot on. (as are all these 200 or 300 videos he's got up here). hope that helps, maybe call him, obviously the guy can fix it.

I agree, no need to name names on who did it, irrelevant.

[merrix]

I agree, no need to name names on who did it, irrelevant.

Well we all have our different opinions and that's good.
In my opinion, you couldn't be more wrong. You and me, who already have our implants, don't give much of a shit about which doc leaves the tubes visible in the shaft and says there is nothing to do about it. And thereby indirectly says that this is the standards his patients should have to accept.
But for someone who is considering this doc, I am sure he would very much like to know about these things.
So I think the name Dr. William Conners definitely should be named here. If he doesn't like to have his name popping up on a google search along with these pictures, then why doesn't he help his patient fix the problem then?
Any doc can have his off day and get a bad result. The difference between the good doc and the bad doc is in how they handle the aftermaths. The bad one won't do anything. Either because he knows he can't do better. Or because of other reasons, such as pride, cannot accept he made a mistake, etc.
The good one though will acknowledge his mistake, say that is not up to my high standards, and fix it.

[ItsTime]

I am not a medical professional. That being said, I have a Titan implant and I am familiar with the design of the unit. So here goes: I am guessing that this is the point of entry via the tubing into the cylinders from the pump/reservoir. It looks like it is rotated to be at the top. It also seems that there may have been too many rear tip extenders (RTE's) with too small of an implant. It seems that the cylinders are too small and to make up for it there were more RTE's placed in the rear; making the point of entry too far forward. Another opinion. The surgeon may not have had a good inventory of implants and had made a bad guess initially. As a result, a shorter implant was put in with the greater number of RTE's to make up for the lack of length. And to make matters worse, the entry point is at the top. I can feel mine off to the side.

Take this with a grain of salt. This is just conjecture on my part. However, it is a viable hypothesis that really lends itself to having you go to a DIFFERENT urologist.

Thanks for the video, that was actually really helpful to understand what's going on.

I don't think the RTE theory is right, because my "receipt" that I was given at my 2 week post op said it was a Coloplast Titan 22cm. It didn't say anything about RTEs. But heck, I'd believe anything at this point.

Going to see Dr. Eid in NYC on Monday for a second opinion. Hopefully he can shed some light on this and be willing to fix the other doctor's sloppy work. In brief emails back and forth, he said he's seen this before and has fixed it before, but that it would require removing at least the pump and the cylinders, and potentially the resevoir if it's placed wrong. I know he does everything through the scrotum rather than the pubic area, so it would be a different technique and a different recovery, but still shouldn't be as significant as when I had the initial surgery done.

[ItsTime]

Well.

I saw Dr Eid yesterday for a second opinion. Obviously he's going to be biased, but he seemed legitimately angry at how bad the original implant was installed. He walked in, took one look and yelled "Oh my GOD. What the hell is this?" He talked me through all the reasons it was a sloppy job, looked me in the eyes and said "I'm so sorry, but we have to remove and replace the whole damn thing."

On the one hand, I'm glad to be validated in feeling like I'm not crazy for being disappointed in the original install. The tubing was routed incorrectly, it is apparently significantly undersized, the placement of the left chamber is too far to the outside causing twisting, the pump is located too far back causing discomfort when I sit...

On the other hand, I'm a little devastated. How could a surgeon do such a bad job? Some guy cut me open and permanently altered my body and did a lousy job at it? How is that even possible?

So Dr Eid said we need to wait at least another month for the swelling to go down before he can do the remove and replace, and then I'll start this whole damn process over again. At least this time I'll have confidence in the guy doing the surgery.

TLDR; GET A QUALIFIED SURGEON.

[Lost Sheep]

Document everthing. Photos, operation report, invoices, EVERYTHING. If anyone asks you for documents, give them copies. Keep the originals.

Keep contemporaneous notes on all conversations and phone calls.

This is not paranoia. It is preparation. (As in the Boy Scouts' motto)

Have a look at www.abu.org (American Board of Urology). It certifies Urologists and deserve to get feedback on their members. For the benefit of future patients, do it. Please.

Lost Sheep

[ItsTime]

Well, in case anyone was curious how this played out...

I am currently on bed rest, two days after having a remove and replace done by Dr Eid. I'll post some pictures tomorrow for comparison.

[alibaba]

Wishing for an uneventful and fulfilling outcome this time. It would be interesting to hear Dr. Eid's opinion on the matter. Be well. Heal fast. Cheers and good to hear the news.

[alibaba]

Actually very interesting you say that- as I've mentioned as a regular "troll" or Dr. Kramer's vidoes, he posted this exact scenario, tubing palpable next to the penis exactly like yours, and then all the steps he took to fix it. I'm not a doctor but I think what he did is totally remove the reservoir or balloon, totally remove the pump, leave the penis part, and replaced those other 2 parts and did a burying of tubing. It's here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14DrBxQxCZA

Calls it something corny like all about tubings but it's spot on. (as are all these 200 or 300 videos he's got up here). hope that helps, maybe call him, obviously the guy can fix it.

I agree, no need to name names on who did it, irrelevant.

MY wonderful wife just told me we cannot watch the video for self instruction and do this ourselves! Woman needs some initiative. d

[alibaba]

Showed my wife your picture. The knot on mine is only the size of a pencil eraser but as you state, it gets quite sore, especially if something rubs on it or bumps it. What did Eid say the bump was? I suspect mine is a loop in the tubing that is out of place but nobody has confirmed what it is. Best hopes for an uneventful recovery.