Worried about the implant at a young age

[alejelq]

Hi guys, this is probably a question that has already been addressed, but my urologist told me that probably my only hope is the prosthesis, because in addition to having fibrosis, I have an artery with too fast a flow and that yes it disperses and therefore I have severe erectile dysfunction.
I was wondering why everywhere I read comments from people and doctors who say that the lifespan of a prosthesis is 10/15 years but in the forums I always read about people who say or have the signature below that the implant has failed after 3 years, or had 3 revisions within 10 years.
Okay, I know you can be out of luck and maybe the implant takes a lot less than the allotted time, but based on the stats I see and what people are saying based on their own experience it seems to me that most people have a review every 3 or 5 years. Sometimes I read 8 years, but very rarely do I see someone changing it every 15 years.
This is very off-putting to me. On the one hand I am excited and delighted to have the implant and to be able to get my sex life back. On the other hand, I am very scared that every 3 or 5 years I will undergo a revision. In that case that's a lot of money to invest and I would live to pay for the prosthesis. I'm only 26 and I can't get to 70 that I've done ten or more revisions. Sorry for the outburst but I'm very worried

[Curvekiller94]

Very valid concerns^^ interested to hear more

[Tortão Pra Direita]

The implant has a lifetime warranty. I have Titan Zero Degree, the most modern Titan model according to the Coloplast representative. He said that if I need a revision 10 years ahead, for example, I'd get the most modern model at that current time (2031). His words.
You would need to pay the medical team and hospital. If your insurance pays for the hospital, this is one thing less to worry about.

I imagine recovery from a revision is much easier than recovery from the first implant, but I'm not sure about it.  

[alejelq]

The implant has a lifetime warranty. I have Titan Zero Degree, the most modern Titan model according to the Coloplast representative. He said that if I need a revision 10 years ahead, for example, I'd get the most modern model at that current time (2031). His words.
You would need to pay the medical team and hospital. If your insurance pays for the hospital, this is one thing less to worry about.

I imagine recovery from a revision is much easier than recovery from the first implant, but I'm not sure about it.

Thanks so much! I think the first system will probably go to America if I can (maybe from Eid), mostly because I want to make sure I'm well sized in the first system. However, when I have to have revisions I think I will make them here in Europe by a trusted surgeon, because it will be enough that he knows the size of the cylinders of the previous implant, and he cannot go wrong with the measurement. Also I wouldn't want to go to the US every time. Do you think this changes anything about the lifetime warranty? If I do the first surgery in the US, then if I have revisions in Europe, will I still be guaranteed for life? Having to travel to the US every time to get a guarantee would be devastating

[anon1986]

Those are all valid concerns.

I think that the majority of people that post online do so because of negative experiences. Not all, of course. But think about restaurant ratings or reviews on Amazon. People who are satisfied are more likely to move on and not think about it.

Thousands of implants are done every year, if you see a dozen guys that need many revisions, how many does that leave. How many guys aren't posting on forums? They're out there, getting 10-15 years out of each unit.

That's how I see it anyway

[Mikel7]

I think that the majority of people that post online do so because of negative experiences. Not all, of course. But think about restaurant ratings or reviews on Amazon. People who are satisfied are more likely to move on and not think about it.

 There is a lot of truth in that statement  We tend to complain when things don't go our way, but do we give out thanks and compliments when they are due?

[alejelq]

Thanks guys for the answers! I wanted to ask you in your opinion, since even if they lasted 10 or 15 years, it would be very uncomfortable to come to America every time. I thought I would go to Eid for the first time and then do the revisions here in Italy or in Europe, so as not to have the problem of undersizing, which can happen during the first surgery. What do you think? I know it's good to pick the best, but I can't really afford to go to America every 10 years (or even worse every 3 or 5 years). In the end I think that (for the size factor) the important intervention is the initial one, then for the revisions it is necessary to be careful more than anything else to the infection

[porterrobinson]

i would not plan 15 years ahead after all anything csn happen, dr eid can retire, a new technique can come out making life time much longer, anew expert in other country can emerge. i think it would be best to talk to the experts themselves first to see what they think. andif they think doing revision with a different doctor is even a good idea. lastly who knows but 3-5 years sound a bit pessimistic for the first revision

[Hawk]

At your age my questions would be the same as yours.  However, if I could absolutely not have intercourse now, what choice would I have.  What would I accomplish by waiting?

The lifetime warranty is from the manufacturer and is honored no matter what surgeon does the revision anywhere on Earth.  Patients frequently go to different surgeons for revision.  If you have a great surgeon, he is just as great with revision as he is with an initial implant.

I think your plan is sound as far as choosing Dr. Eid for an initial implant, depending on how much more it is going to cost you.  You will still need a GREAT surgeon for the revision, however, in 10 - 15 years maybe there will be more doctors to choose from in Italy.  If there is a great surgeon in Italy now, he would aggressively size you; otherwise, he is not a great surgeon.

About the life of the implant, I have read accounts of men with implants getting revisions in 16 years. Most men on this forum have only had implants for 3 years or less.  JackP, who is deceased, had his implant 6 years when he died.  No one on this forum has had a device failure in the short time we have had implants.  There was one failure caused by a hernia surgeon who damaged the implant. So of about 22 implants on this forum ranging from 1 month to 6 years, 100% are operational.  Industry-wide I have read statistics that after 5 years, 94% are still fully functional.

[Roddy]

That's a great post, Hawk. Very reassuring. I'll be 2 years on June 2nd.