My surgery experience at the London Andrology Clinic

[thepaul]

Just back to Toronto yesterday after 2 weeks in London, and having had the Egydio technique performed by Dr. Franklin Kuehhas at the London Andrology Clinic.

Sorry that this is a little long and detailed - I hope it's not too much. Wanted to provide as much info right off the hop.

A totally top notch doctor/surgeon, at a world class clinic. From the admin and front desk people, to the nurses, and the prep people and anesthesiology team - I was really impressed. Cheery, professional, comforting, reassuring. Clean, modern, facilities in a posh/upscale London neighbourhood.

The attraction for me to the Egydio technique is it involves no loss of length, in fact regaining of lost length (and increasing with subsequent rehab), and very little risk of reduced quality of erections.

The caveat here is that my unit is still wrapped up fairly tightly in dressing, just the head showing - this is 11 days after the surgery. They changed the dressing once 1 week after the procedure - I was fairly nervous about that, if it was going to hurt, if it would stick. I was tense and Dr K just told me to relax, it won't hurt. And it didn't. He said when it was off "you can look if you want, but you may not want to, though it's just a lot of bruising", and I said no thanks. At this stage your scrotum and the whole area around is really bruised and purple. He changed the dressing again one week later (4 days ago), and I did take a glance then, just really noticing the stiches. Again it didn't hurt at all.

So I haven't really seen it yet, and I don't know what it's going to look like fully erect. But Dr Kuehhas came in to the post-op room at some point when I was coming out of the anesthetic haze, and said with a thumbs up and a smile "you now have a very straight penis". I trust this guy 100% - he's amazing. Since the day of the surgery, and every day since, he's in touch with me, asking to send a daily photo - plus our 3 physical follow ups since then.

To answer aazmaish's question, the total cost for me was £9,000, or $18,000 (Canadian). A lot of scratch, but having been through it (and if my erections are as straight as he's promised) it will be worth it. And not just because of the outcome. When I see the staff, the facilities, the number of professionals involved, and the daily and detailed follow up care I'm receiving, I don't think it's an overcharge.

(I've been wondering since if we could set up a fund somehow, or get a 'fundme' campaign going, to help our peers on this forum - anyway, that's for another day and post.)

On the day before the procedure, we had a consultation. We again discussed my history and talked at some length about the procedure, and he fielded all of the questions I had. We had done much of this already via a Skype consultation a couple of weeks previously.  He also showed me an animated video, which shows how the procedure works, and what they are proposing to do. FYI he's going to send that to me soon, and I will share it on the forum.

We then went down to the examination room, where he induced an erection - this was accomplished by a small injection to the penis, which didn't hurt. (The erection lasted for hours tho, which was a little uncomfortable!). He then did an ultrasound to determine where the plaque was exactly, and as well to determine exact blood in/out flow to the penis.  Also they took a blood sample that the anesthesiologist needed.

Day of procedure, showed up at 9 am, down to pre-op. A couple of interviews with a nurse then the anesthesiologist - they ask you a lot of the same questions, but they're very thorough - one thing they need to make sure of is that you've fasted for 8 hours and haven't drunk any fluids for 2 - surgery scheduled for morning makes this easier. Then off you go to "the theatre". I'm still fairly nervous of course, but the professionalism and reassurance from all helped. There's the anesthesiologist, and his assistant (who's great and also funny) and another female nurse, in what I can describe as the typical operating room you see on TV. And you can't believe you're there, about to have your cock disassembled.

I tell the anesthesiologist how nervous I am, and he says yes, I'm going to give you something first to help you with that. And that's pretty close to the last thing I remember.

It was close to 2 hours of an operation, and I was almost a further 3 in the recovery room, pretty much out cold. My lady was waiting for me at reception and we took a cab home. I felt no pain whatsoever, neither then nor till very recently. The opiates for the first 3 days helped - a variation of Oxycontin called Tradamol, then just codeine and ibuprofen for a few days, then just ibuprofen.

We were up and sightseeing the city the day after the procedure. It was surreal. I had a check in with Dr Kuehhas the next day, daily follow ups by text every day after, and what is documented above.

I've had erections at night, every night, which wake me up because they're a little painful - last night fairly painful, though it doesn't last long. Dr Kuehhas says this is good, to be getting erections, good for the healing, and it's normal that they are painful for the first several weeks - the penis is still tightly wrapped, and everything is still healing. I'm going back to taking some codeine and ibuprofen before bed to help.

Jaysus I'm sorry that this is so long, perhaps way too much detail. Of course the proof will be when I get the dressing off and things are healed and I'll be able to observe my erection - about 2 or 3 weeks time. But I have to say I'm fully confident, and that Dr Kuehhas is an excellent man and surgeon. I can't say enough good about him or the clinic or the staff. He texted me the day we flew back to Canada to make sure we travelled safe, and to ensure that I send him a picture every day and to ask any questions that come up. We're having a Skype meeting next Wednesday, where I will undress and redress my penis with his guidance. Or maybe the dressing comes off for good then - not sure.

There will be months of rehabilitation, in the form of daily traction to follow.

That's it for now fellas. PM me, email me, call me, whatever, whenever, for more info, if you want it. Can you email me from this? Happy to chat by phone too. I'll keep posting as things proceed.

[james1947]

thepaul

Thank you for the detailed post.
It will help others for sure to decide to go on this way.
Wish you fast recovery and future usage

James

[shrout]

Hi thepaul, good to read your account. Thanks for going to the trouble of posting it.

Your experience seems to be very similar to mine, except that mine was carried out under the wonderful UK NHS system.
The main difference seems to be the aftercare. Mine has been ok.. I have no complaints.. but yours seems to be very comprehensive (so far).
I was given Viagra to help the healing process and to help ensure the final outcome is a straight penis. This has been succesful although I have some loss of length, but nothing significant. No mention was made by any of the consultants I saw before or after the operation to either traction or VED as part of the post operative care. You mention that you will be having months of daily traction. Is this something that your consultant has advised you to do, or is it something you have decided to do yourself, presumably with his approval?

atb. looking forward to your follow up post.

[gayguy]

Thank you Thepaul and Sunseeker for a great report on your experience at the London Andrology Clinic. I have been talking to them too as they sound very professional. I also went to the VU hospital in Amsterdam a few days ago to talk with Prof Meuleman the senoir urologist there and finally  someone here in the Netherlands i could really talk to. Good news is that the eggydio technique is available once i am out of the acute phase and a next appointment is schedualled in november. Good news too is that the dutch national health service will cover the costs. If i continue on this path i will also write a report on my experience.

[Pfract]

Thank you guys for sharing your experience.  It's always nice to have more feedback, so we can redirect people there when the time comes.

All the best for your recovery!

[thepaul]

Hi all

Bit of an update here.

Yes @Shrout the follow up has been amazing. I'm back in Canada, 16 days after surgery, and Dr Kuehhas Whatsapp's me every day. I send him pictures daily for him to check. We had a 40 minute talk a the 2 week mark, at which point I removed the dressing for the first time on my own. That was a bit of a scary thing, to really see the stitches around where the shaft meets the head, and to see some bloody, bruised bits. Everything's a little sensitive

He has me taking 5mg cialis at night now as well, to help oxygenate and get more blood into the penis. He also has me wrapping it again at night, to help it to heal symmetrically. If you want to do the same, try to find 3M Coban dressing - it's great stuff. Comes in a roll of 4" width - cut that to 2" and enough to wrap snugly but not so tight as to restrict circulation. Also he has me - get this - soaking my unit in cold chamomile tea, 5 minutes in the morning and 5 at night. Skin healing properties in the tea. As he warned me, make sure you let it cool down first lol!

Shrout yes you should be stretching yours every day, to make sure the graft doesn't begin to retract. This is all at doctor's orders. Right now I'm just doing it manually, stretching it as much as I can bear, 10 times for 10 seconds every time I pee, as per instructions. I've ordered a stretching device - I settled on the Phallosan Forte - and I'll be wearing that for at least 3 hours a day for the next 3-6 months if not longer. This is crucial mate, and you might consider doing the same. The upshot is you'll see length and girth gains - if you do it for more like 6-8 hours a day. The good thing about the Phallosan is apparently you can wear it as you sleep, so it would be easy to get hours in there. As well, it seems that it would be easy to wear beneath clothing and go about your day, as some seem to do. It's definitely going to be a bit of a hassle for the next number of months, but it will become a habit, and the healing and final outcome will be all worth it.

Regarding night time. I've been lucky, in that my nocturnal erections returned pretty much right after surgery. If I wasn't sure I was having them before surgery I am now - because they hurt. At first it wasn't much, but the first night I started with the cialis, I forgot to take 400 mg of ibuprofen, and I paid for it! That hurt. I had an erection pretty much all night it seemed, and when it peaked, which it seems that they do from time to time, it was excruciating. What's happening is the graft and it's internal sutures are stretching with the erection. Last night I took 400mg of ibuprofen and some codeine. When I awoke at 4 am in pain I did it again, ibuprofen and codeine. Last night was much better. Was able to sleep after brief wakings. It's not a big deal if you prepare and take good painkilers.

Kuehhas says that this is great stuff, the erections, that things are working and that the erections help with the healing.

Everything was so easy for the first 2 weeks, when it was all wrapped up. Now that it's exposed, and things are a little sensitive, and there's all of this maintenance to do, and the stitches are still visible, and there are months of rehab ahead, it's a bit of a thing lol! But I'm still glad I did it. It's getting better and easier every day. And I can see now my flaccid penis doesn't have a crook in it anymore, and I can't wait to see my first full erection when I'm good to go?  

I'll update again soon. Again, any questions or anything, pm or email me.

Shrout - When did you get your surgery? Who was your surgeon?

[james1947]

Thepaul

Thanks again for the detailed post
Wish you continue with the good recovery.

James

[rich68]

That's a really uplifting account thepaul. It sounds fantastic. I hope everything continues to go well for you.

[Pfract]

Indeed, such a detailed account! Good luck on the rest of your recovery. Also, would never thought about the tea for healing the skin. Amazing!

[james1947]

Chamomile tea is a remedy for many things, including eye infections. Make a google search.
I know the from my mother
I was somehow surprised that a doctor like Kuehass proposing treatment with it

James

[shrout]

Shrout - When did you get your surgery? Who was your surgeon?

thepaul, my surgery was in March of this year at UCLH in London.

Believei it or not I don't know who actually performed the surgery on me! I was treated by a surgical team overseen by Mr. David Ralph, but I don't think Mr.Ralph actually wielded the scalpel himself.

To be honest, once the operation was over I was a little embarrassed to ask. But I would nevertheless like to say a big thank you once again to the surgical team and the nurses at UCLH for their superb care and expertise. The outcome is exactly what I hoped for.

[J-A]

Shrout yes you should be stretching yours every day, to make sure the graft doesn't begin to retract. This is all at doctor's orders. Right now I'm just doing it manually, stretching it as much as I can bear, 10 times for 10 seconds every time I pee, as per instructions. I've ordered a stretching device - I settled on the Phallosan Forte - and I'll be wearing that for at least 3 hours a day for the next 3-6 months if not longer. This is crucial mate, and you might consider doing the same. The upshot is you'll see length and girth gains - if you do it for more like 6-8 hours a day. The good thing about the Phallosan is apparently you can wear it as you sleep, so it would be easy to get hours in there. As well, it seems that it would be easy to wear beneath clothing and go about your day, as some seem to do. It's definitely going to be a bit of a hassle for the next number of months, but it will become a habit, and the healing and final outcome will be all worth it.


How are you getting on with the 'Phallosan Forte' ? thepaul. I need to purchase a stretching device for the end of next week  

[shrout]

Thanks for the advice J-A. I'm wondering why nobody who I saw after the op. (a nurse after 10 days, a consultant after 6 weeks and then Mr.Ralph after 4 months) mentioned anything about shrinkage, or how I might prevent it. And I feel such a fool for not asking.

Luckily everything  seems ok so far, nearly 6 months on.. my dick is nice and straight when erect, although there is a bit of girth loss at the site of the graft. I'll do as you say J-A and do the pulling after I pee. I also have a VED from my pre-op days, so I'll give that a try and see if it makes any difference, length or girthwise, and get back to the forum if I notice anything signifcant.

I don't think I'll go as far as getting a Phallosan Forte, though as you say I'm quite sure it would have a positive effect if I was to do what you're about to. Wishing you the best of luck with that mate. You must feel great at the prospect of getting back to something close to how you were before the onset of this horrible condition.  

[james1947]

shrout

You can't blame yourself:

And I feel such a fool for not asking.

It is the job of Dr. Ralph and his staff to guide you what to do after surgery.
Sadly they don't care about you or other people
Wish you best results and usage

James

[shrout]

Many thanks, James. Perhaps they just forgot as well, although I agree with you... as professionals it is their job to give patients all the information they need, post-op.  

[thepaul]

Hello all.

My apologies for the long delay in updating. Ok so... looks like my last surgery update was July 24. Wow. Where to start... For those looking for the whole story go to my first post in this thread.

I wrote the last time about painful night time erections. The pain eventually subsided, as the inner sutures healed I suppose. I still get great nocturnal erections, but no pain. For the first 3 or so months, I was getting great erections, but as is normal, I had "glans hypoesthesia - numbness or loss of sensation on the penis tip. It was pretty damn frustrating as I had a big throbbing erection and I couldn't climax masturbating, or with my partner. A little worrisome - would this last forever? As Dr Kuehhas kept assuring me, the sensation would come back, and indeed it did. That was a mighty satisfying orgasm   And now I'm fully functional and sensate.

It's been over 4 months now since the surgery. Following my last post, when I had finally taken off the dressing, I had to wrap the unit again at night reasonably tightly. I think it was a further 2 weeks or month of that. No big deal - wrap it at night, take it off in the morning. It could feel a little sensitive, especially around the still present sutures at the base of the head, but done carefully it was fine. After a number of months those sutures disappeared. For a number of months it was still fairly sensitive there, at the site of the outer sutures (stitches). Even after they had benn absorbed, disappeared, it was sensitive. So for example if I tried to masturbate, that part was sensitive, coupled with the glans numbness - frustrating! Or if I wore swim trunks with no support, the friction was unpleasant. Or showering, if it hit you there - you learn to be careful! But rest assured, it all passes.

Dr Kuehhas and the entire team continued, and continue to be, unbelievable, helpful, and responsive to all concerns and requests. He was WhatsApp'ing with me daily while he was on vacation in Mexico. Amazing.

So now I continue with using the Phallosan Forte every day, usually 3-6 hours. I highly recommend that for traction - which you MUST DO every day folks. It's really easy and comfortable once you get the hang of it. And it seems I've gained 1/2" in 3 months of using it - if I'd been really diligent and 6 hours daily it would be more.

Have I missed anything? All I can say guys is do this. It's worked out for me - I'm totally straight, totally hard when erect, and my girth and length have increased.

As always, PM me for more info - sorry if I'm not quick to respond, I'm pretty busy but I'll get back to you.

[J-A]

Hi Thepaul

Glad your experience was the same as mine. We are pretty much at the same point post op.
I had a check up with the Doc last sunday and all good for me too. there are still some numb bits but that is improving.

I had quite a lot of discomfort post coitus for a while but that has subsided.

Dr Keuhhas is a genius  

[thepaul]

J-A, yes he is!

[MoatazKad]

the clinic seems to be quite advanced in terms of other aspects too e.g. penile implants