New to Site - Surgery Upcoming

[PB]

Hi Everyone,

I've been reading your posts over the past couple months and finally registered.  I want to quickly share what's going on and hopefully receive some comforting feedback.

About 20 months ago I developed Peyronie's with a severe up-turn on the top of my penis, half way up the shaft.  It is on a nerve and extremely painful to have erections.  Over the past three month's I've been through several ultrasounds and three doctors during my quest for second and third opinions.  The final decision is that I have to undergo plaque removal with a graft and three piece penile implant this upcoming Thursday, 3/28.  

Just straightening the penis won't work since the plaque has damaged the blood flow from the base to the tip, so the implant is a necessity.  I'm only 44 and devastated that I won't be able to fully gain an erection again on my own without use of the implant.  I'm in good hands with the director at Tower Urology at Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills, but I'm terrified about the surgery and the impending pain for a few weeks after the surgery.

Anyone who has had a similar surgery please offer any insight on recovery and how pleased you are with the implant?  How rigid does it get?  Is it an easy learning curve?  How about the incision on the penis...what to expect after it's healed?  Does it look weird?  

Thank you in advance for reading my post and look forward to hearing from anyone.

PB

[Hawk]

PB,

I sincerely plead with you to help me to begin to understand why someone would read this forum for months, and go through 3 doctors, and get to within 6 days of extremely invasive surgery before joining and posting. This is why I plead with all the guests and lurkers out there to please just register and even send a private message if you have some kind of concerns about posting.

Your decision may be exactly the right decision but how are we to speculate on that at this point?  We know nothing of your doctor, what other treatments you have tried, your choice of implant, or several other factors.  We don't know what other surgical options you have considered.  Usually an implant can be done any time after it is clear that all else including other surgeries fail.  

Have you considered excising the plaque and a graft?

If you live in CA and have not been to Dr. Lue then you bypassed the number 1 rated man in North America in my opinion (for both surgery and avoiding surgery).  

[mike67]

PB

If you care to , you can go to the My History thread on the Forum home page. I had surgery 13 months ago in Toronto and have placed a fairly informative narrative of my Peyronies story , leading up to surgery and notes on my recovery stages.
I had Plaque Incision & SIS Graft done. He also did a slight Plication on the oposite side to tighten things up.
I had a very nasty 95 degree bend to the right , which started more towards the base. It was fine post op but I did develop a residual slight bend a few weeks after surgery and this was pretty well corrected after months on traction. My bend was severe so chances are you will be fine immediately after surgery.
I can't comment on an implant but there a few Histories on the page you can scroll through and get more information.
All the best to you Thursday
Mike  

[jean claude]

Hi there. I'm Jean Claude and live in Italy. I too had surgery to remove the plaques with patches. I had a plaque on the left side about 7cm long, and on the right 5 cm. I had the semi-rigid implants installed aswell. As I had noticeable shrinkage, my doctors cut the suspensory ligament to regain as much as possible. The surgery took nearly 5 hours.. but well worth it. My stay in hospital was only 7 days, and back to work day 10. I am very happy with the results, as too my girlfriend. The sexlife has just got better since. 2 days ago was my 6month post-op visit, and everything is perfect.

I did expierence while having sex during the first 3 months I had no orgasm, and no ejaculation. My doctors told me that it is normal losing sensibility after this type of surgery, and said it could take from 3 to 6 months for sensability to return. At my 3 & 1/2 month, I had my first post-op orgasm and ejaculation. The sensation was abit dull, but having almost daily sex till now, all my sensations have returned to normal. My girlfriend and I are very happy... I find that a caring and patient partner also helps the process of healing. She was by my side the entire time. The best thing she ever told me was that she is with me not only for my d<>k... and that good things come to those who wait.

I hope my expierence sharing helps. If you need any more info please feel free to write, even personal msg. If I had known of this surgery I would have had it along time ago. I wasted 5 years with 2 very unprofessional urologists. It sounds like you are in good hands.

Ciao
Claude

[coh]

hi jean claude

what is a semi-rigid implants, hab a you a link to a desctiption?

thanks
coh

[LWillisjr]

PB,
I don't know your specific situation, but if you are able to achieve an erection, then your blood flow is good. I don't get the connection that your doctor thinks you need an implant. I don't want to second guess your decision at this point, especially with your surgery coming up in 5 days. I trust since you have been a long time lurker on this forum that you did try and exhaust other therapies first.

[jean claude]

There are 3 types of implants semi-rigid, a 2 piece inflatable, and 3 piece with inflatable with separate reservoir. My doctor suggested in getting the semi-rigid due to the fact they are very reliable, meaning less things that go wrong with the device. When not needed you bend it in the down position, and when needed bend it back up. You don't have to pump anything making it akward when with a partner, and the price is very reasonable. My procedure was free from Italian health care, but I wanted the 3piece I would have to pay half the 12.000 euro price tag(6.000 euros) You have a 24 hour erection, because part of the spungy cavernosa are removed to make room for the implants.(includes inflatable ones aswell)so it means consealing it, is harder, and takes awhile getting use to, but I'm fine with it now. My implants were also due to ED, brought on by years of not detecting that i have type 2 diabetes. Try not worry to much about the operation.. If you have been struggling for as long as I have with Peyronies, ED, and diabetes, and have the right doctors, it should be ok. Studies have shown that 80% who have this procedure were satisfied with results. I'm one of them. I would also like to mention, that once you have the implants there is no going back hoping for natural erections. I took this into consideration, but I had only 2 choises... Risk the 20% , and have sex again, or no sex, and no fatherhood. I'm 42, and my girlfriend is 31, and she wants kids in the near future...so do I.

Claude

[PB]

Thank you everyone for the feedback.

We chose to go with an implant after two ultrasounds and a several week test of wearing a device from Cedars Sinai.  It was a small cloth ring worn just behind the head and another at the base attached to a six inch monitor - throughout the night it measured the blood flow from the base of my penis to the head of the penis.  At the end of the three weeks the monitor's information was uploaded to a computer and we were able to view nightly erections and blood flow.   The plaque has created an issue that won't allow enough blood flow to adequately fill the top half of my penis.  So, after the plaque removal I would more than likely (85% chance) end up with a straight penis with the top half only filling partially with blood.  He said when this happens most choose to come back for the implant, which would mean two operations instead of one operation.  Dr. Leach is the director at Tower Urology at Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills with years of experience - so I feel confident in the decision.

To answer another person - I read the posts on here to help me make informed decisions without posting myself.  Only after I made the decision to move forward with the operation did I decide to ask a few questions; questions that weren't addressed in other posts.  Hopefully afterward I can add to information on the forum that may help other Peyronie's victims.  

I'll keep everyone updated after Thursday's surgery and thank you.

PB

[LWillisjr]

Please keep us updated and wish you the best for a successful outcome.

Les

[Hawk]

Good luck to you PB.  Sounds like you did your research and thought this through.  I hope (and I am confident) you will be fine.

Let us know.

Hawk

[funnyfarm]

Good luck and please keep posting.

[Forester]

mike67
If I may ask how long did it take from your referal to get an appointment with Dr Grober?

[PB]

Hi Everyone,
First day back in the living.  The surgery went well and when inserting the implants the surgeon "heard" the plaque cracking...after further checking didn't have to get the graft.  Thank GOD!  At any rate the pain has been awful and they kept me fully inflated for 7 days (mostly my fault as I couldn't get to Cedars the day they could've seen me).  I was in such a great deal of pain that they were going to knock me out to deflate, but by Sunday swelling had gone down.  Now I pain is gone, but I always look erect.  The doc said it'll look very full and won't lay flat for 1 -2 months due to swelling and the newness of the implants.  At any rate, I'm glad I had it done and recovery is no walk in the park - regardless of what anyone says.  I'm 44 and very active all the time, so these two weeks down have been a lesson in patience.
I'll keep everyone updated as my follow up is this Friday.  Thank you for all the words of encouragement and support.
PB

[LWillisjr]

Very glad the surgery went well. Healing is slow and takes patience. Please keep us posted on progress.

[james1947]

PB

Wish you fast recovery and successfull usage

James

[chipc]

I Have my surgery scheduled for mid June. Since you are about three months ahead of me, what can I expect in terms of recovery. And the ability to use the implant? Thanks for your input.

[james1947]

PB

I would like to ask your permission to move your topic to the:
Surgery for Peyronie's Disease - PDS - Peyronies Society Forums
because it contains important information for people interested in surgery.
Please let me know if it is OK from your side.

James