Hi Guys

I'm Neil aged 51 from the UK and I have just had the Nesbitt procedure last week at University College London Hospital under the care of consultant, Mr Asif Muneer.

I thought I would share my journey so far and the healing process to help any guys wondering what it's like after a Nesbitt!

I first noticed a curvature in my penis in early 2011 which worsened as time went on and, like many here, I could not think of anything specific that may have caused this. I could also feel the plaque on the top side of the shaft.

FAMILY BACKGROUND / GENETIC CAUSES?
In June of this year I was on holiday in Canada with my partner and my twin sister.  My sister and I were adopted in the UK but our birth mother was Canadian and I knew my real father was from Canada of German descent.  I had managed to trace my birth mother around 13 years ago but had not been able to trace my father who was not married to my mother.  However, to cut a long story short and through the wonders of LinkedIn, my sister and I totally unexpectedly managed to come into contact with a half brother and half sister while on our holiday in Canada.

I discovered that my natural father (since deceased) was of German origin and the family comes from Stettin in what was Prussia but now is Poland.  The reason for mentioning all this is that my half brother who is only 4 months younger has recently had surgery for Dupuytren's contracture in his hand and I believe that there is some connection between Peyronies Disease & Dupuytren's which would suggest to me that there is some genetic predisposition to Peyronies Disease.  Also, my half sister has haemachromatosis (too much iron in the blood) which requires regular venipuncture.  Left untreated the excess iron in the blood can damage various tissues and organs particularly the heart and liver (cirrhosis of the liver / heart attack).  I have been to my GP about this and I also have raised iron levels but I am currently awaiting the results of a haemachromatosis gene test (I believe it's a Northern hemisphere genetic thing).  

Is there anyone out there with Peyronies Disease who also has haemachromatosis as I do wonder if there is any connection?

Anyways, the above is by way of background.

SEEING THE GP
I plucked up courage to see my sympathetic GP re the curvature in my penis in Sep 2011 and he referred me to the Andrology dept at UCLH.  in the meantime, after researching a little on the web, I started taking vitamin E regularly and various supplements including CoEnzyme Q10 (3 x 30mg per day) / Ginseng (1 x 500mg per day) / n-acetyl l-carnitine / gingko biloba and silica (can't remember the dosages of the last three).

I had an appointment with the andrology dept a couple of months later who confirmed Peyronies Disease with a dorsal curvature (from my iPhone photos which I took along!).  As they wanted to wait until at least 18 months to see if the Peyronies Disease had stabilised I was asked to return a few weeks later to get sorted with a vacuum device (Soma Correct 15080 VED - not available on the NHS and not cheap at £200). I began using the VED and continued with the supplements for several months but cannot say that I noticed any real change other than I appeared to have more foreskin than usual.  I became a bit despondent about the whole thing and stopped the supplements and VED.  I was on anti-depressants too for unrelated matters but having Peyronies Disease did not help me feel any better and was also having an adverse affect on my relationship with my male partner of 8 years.

I have been fortunate in that the Peyronies Disease has never caused me any physical pain that I've noted and the curvature/progression has been stable since around mid-2012.

I was finally scheduled for surgery at the beginning of 2013 but this was cancelled 3 times! (once as I was due to go on the holiday to Canada and it's best not to fly within 6 weeks of surgery due to the DVT risks, the second time because the consultant went on holiday and the third as there was a more urgent case which had to be seen).  So all in all a bit of an emotional roller coaster building yourself up to go in for the surgery and it then being cancelled.

SURGERY / NESBITT PROCEDURE
However, I finally arrived at UCLH for surgery on Friday 11th October 2013 (just under 2 years after first going to my GP about the matter).

FRIDAY
The surgery took place Friday afternoon and lasted about an hour (under general anaesthetic) and there were no complications according to the doctor who assisted Mr Muneer.   I was taken to theatre at 4pm but did not return to the ward until 9pm which naturally caused some worry for my partner and sister (very poor communication about where I was!)

SATURDAY/SUNDAY
My member was bandaged well and a catheter was in place. After seeing the partner and having a light bite I dozed off.  However, I awoke at 4am covered in blood as there was bleeding from the bandages. The nurses came and replaced the dressing, however, the bleeding continued and at 10.30am they asked for a doctor to come and have a look at things (my advice here is don't have NHS surgery on Friday as it seems no doctors are around at the weekend!).  I then waited an astonishing 16 hours before an on duty doctor came to look at me at 2.30am in the wee hours of Sunday morning.  At this point the nurses had just changed the dressing again so the doctor did not wish to disturb anything but said he would report this to the urology registrar and someone would check in the morning.  Now I was not bleeding profusely - there appeared to be a constant slow trickle of blood from under my foreskin which at this stage I was not going to pull back under any circumstance to have a look although my penis was still pretty much numb at this stage.  However, having had 7 dressings at this stage and having had 1 dressing completely fall off as it was so sodden with blood was causing me considerable anxiety.  When one dressing was taken off there were such big blood clots I though the end of my penis must have dropped off - bit of a gross out moment but thank God not true!

Finally on Sunday morning two ward doctors did their round and it transpired that the bleeding was coming from a cut in the frenulum (you probably know - but the thin piece of skin joining the glans to the shaft).  The doctor simply held this tight for a few minutes with a piece of sterile gauze and then when the bleeding had stopped applied a new dressing - this time with the gauze inside the foreskin - it was a more firm dressing and there was no real bleeding after this point.

Medication-wise when I came round I had a saline drip in to rehydrate me (just one bag).  I was given an injection of some anticoagulant (to stop blood clots) but they stopped this due to the bleeding and I only had one more injection after the bleeding had stopped.  I was given antibiotics (Augmentin - co-amoxiclav - 625mg 3 x per day & paracetamol as needed). To be honest whilst in hospital I cannot say that I was in any great pain - more discomfort rather than pain.  The catheter was the most difficult aspect for me - uncomfortable and difficult when you have an overwhelming urge to pee but can't.

MONDAY
With the bleeding definitely stopped I was discharged on Monday afternoon so was in hospital from arrival at 7am Friday to 2.30pm Monday.  Signed off work for 2 weeks.

The catheter was taken out  - I was very worried about that - but it is over in a second and more discomfort rather than pain.  Given some pads to wear in case of any bleeding and advised to keep my penis in an 'upright' position LOL.  No sex for 6 weeks and follow up appointment in 3 weeks. Antibiotics to continue for 5 days after discharge and painkillers as needed.  I was given codeine phosphate in addition to paracetamol but have only taken one of those which made me feel a bit sick so have just continued with the paracetamol which has been fine.

TUESDAY - THURSDAY
The shaft of my penis is VERY very bruised / purple at the moment, particularly underneath and I can see stitches in the frenulum (dissolving stitches I believe) and I can feel what I think is a further two stitches down my penis - one on each side of the shaft. At the moment I am unable (or too chicken?) to pull the foreskin fully back but there is some slight bleeding on the top of the shaft under the foreskin but I guess this is part of the healing process as I assume they made cuts below the glans.  The bruising extends to the scrotum.  The skin surrounding the glans is currently very swollen.

I was advised to wear supportive underwear which is definitely helpful and I do have a general discomfort and sitting down can be a chore. I'm at my PC writing this but I am ready to go lie on the sofa and watch more movies now!

I was expecting a lot more scarring than there actually is especially after seeing some stuff on the the internet but, for the moment at least, I am relatively happy with what I see and the surgeon advised I should lose only about 0.5 cm in length - hope that one's true -  I'll keep you updated.

I was very nervous about the op and one of my concerns was that there does not appear to be many post-op pictures out there which, having seen my own results, would have been of reassurance to me beforehand.  I do have my own post-op photos which I would be happy to share with anyone else about to undergo the Nesbitt procedure if this might help - let me know.

I'll post an update once the swelling starts to go down and I can see more of the result!  I hope the above is useful and if anyone has any info on haemachromatosis or anything I've mentioned then please let me know - cheers!

All the best guys!
Neil

Neil

Thank you for shearing your story with us. It may help others, especially from the UK to understand how things are going.
Keep update us that we know how is your progress. Wish you fast recovery and full success.
Peyronies has indeed genetic aspects according to many, myself know that my father had it at same age as me.

Welcome to the forum
James

Hi James

Thanks for your reply and kind wishes.

An update since my last post.

FRIDAY (one week post op).  When I went to pee this morning there was some blood in the urine but nothing that I'm overly concerned about.

SATURDAY/SUNDAY

The swelling and bruising has reduced considerably over the past couple of days.  I have been able to pull the foreskin back gently and can now see the stitches around the base of the glans and the frenulum.

Still concerned about the two 'stitches' I can feel further down on each side of the shaft - they feel really big for stitches and are more noticeable now that the swelling has started to go down.  Is there anyone else can shed any light on that?

Have been having some erections at night which are quite painful.

Otherwise all seems OK - I have my follow up appointment at the end of the month.

Will keep you posted!

best wishes
Neil

Neil

I hope someone that had surgery will jump in and tell you from his own experience.
I just want to add that your nocturnal erections are a good sign, the doctor didn't damage nerves.

James

Hello again

Well just had my 3 week check up today.  All the swelling and bruising has cleared up.  Asked about the two 'lumps' on each side of the shaft which appear more prominent now that the bruising etc has gone.  I was told that these are big stitches to keep everything in place during erections but that they will dissolve over a period of 6 months.  The finer stitches around the glans etc should disappear fairly soon.

Re the blood in urine the nurse said that this is fairly common after having a catheter inserted and I should not worry unless it happens again.

Feeling happy with the cosmetic outcome so far and will keep you posted.

BW
Neil

Hi Neil , how long did numbness last , if any ? I am now 6 weeks post op and still very numb ,,, Ken