My Experience with Surgery

[porkchopsandwiches]

Hi All,

As a recently arrived member here I promised that I would journal my experience with corrective surgery.  It's been 12 days since surgery and written down my experiences and thoughts, and would like to share these with you, particularly those considering surgery as a treatment option.

FYI 35 years old, Australian, uncircumcised, 6.5" on a good day, curvature before surgery was 45 degrees left, 20 degrees down.  One plaque on left below glans, one septal plaque between the two chambers of the corpus cavernosa, both confirmed on ultrasound.

4/8 Day of Surgery
Went in for surgery at about 3pm.  Woke at about 7.  Little pain, foreskin was numb – I assume they put a local anaesthetic in as well.  Surgery took about three hours from what I recall being told – still a bit foggy from anaesthetic at this stage.  Surgeon was confident, says he thinks I will be happy with the result.  I opted for an incision along the top of my penis rather than de-gloving.  I refused circumcision.  

Considerable swelling – a large dressing wrapped around my penis.  Urination was an issue – they couldn't get a catheter in, there was certainly swelling around the urethra however I was able to pass urine slowly, and of a decent enough volume for them to let me go home (200ml+).  It burned like a fierce UTI.

5/8 Day After surgery
Still little to no pain, still feeling run down from the general anaesthetic.  Swelling had increased around penis however urination was becoming easier and easier and by afternoon it was normal.  The afternoon saw a bit of a pain spike but only an irritating stinging – nothing I would really call 'painful'.  From what I can see either side of the dressing my penis is heavily bruised but not tender to the touch.  Very purple.  I will be talking the dressing off tomorrow to shower so I'll have a better idea of what's going on.  I imagine it looks quite horrible under there.

6/8
Some mild discomfort last night during a mild nocturnal erection – however it didn't reach anywhere near hard.  Felt constricted.  Kept dressing on today as I had to go in to work for a meeting in the afternoon.  Still a bit of a space cadet from the general anaesthetic but still nothing I would call a substantial amount of pain that would require analgesia.

7/8
A few more nocturnal erections – still nothing major.  Took the dressing off this morning for a shower – my penis is bruised to all hell and by volume double the size from swelling.  About 10-12 dissolvable stitches, no bleeding or leaking.  Most of the swelling is in the base which has moved the foreskin forward – there's no way it's gonna pull all the way back for some time.  The stitches are a touch uncomfortable when pressed but generally fine in underwear.

8/8
A bit of an uncomfortable sleep – my penis really wants to get hard – considering I haven't been able to take care of business for many days now.  Trying really hard not to think of sex.  I wake easy enough once it becomes uncomfortable, in which a slight adjustment of my sleeping position and thinking unsexy thoughts causes the erection to quickly subside.  Swelling has decreased a bit, and colour has improved.  End of foreskin moves better now – swelling has subsided to the point where I can recognise the head of the penis underneath.  The swelling near the base is that bad that the head of my penis is sitting underneath the incision site in the skin!  I hope that's something of a good thing as it should mean that the sutures in the tunica aren't directly underneath the incision and might help reduce the chance of any adhesions as things heal.

9/8
Each day comes with less swelling, but more prominent night erections which I guess is a good thing.  I need to reposition things now when it wakes me up so that I'm pointing north and not constricted by my underpants.  I'm probably at about 50% erect.  I haven't had a look, but a sleepy feel gives me an indication that it's quite straight!  I'm looking forward to being able to sustain a more solid erection so I can have a look at it.

10/8
Pretty quiet night – only one partial which was relieved after getting up and going to the toilet.  Still less swelling, but foreskin is certainly taking it's time to go back to normal.  As the swelling subsides, the sutures in the tunica are becoming more prominent – I can't palpate them as yet, but there is a mild pain upon touching the area.  It's also the area that hurts when I get a nocturnal erection.

11/8 (one week)
No erections last night – kind of a relief.  Colour is looking better every day – much of the bruising has gone.  Swelling has reduced further.

16/8
Stitches are starting to fall off now.  Had a decent erection last night - it's getting bigger each time.  I'm guessing as the resistance from the swollen tissue reduces, the chambers have more room to fill up.  One thing that is clear now is that this is going to be a relatively slow process - I can retract my foreskin now with a bit of effort, but it's going to take many more weeks if not months for all of that tissue to go back to normal.  It may sound a bit crass but since I haven't masturbated for nearly a fortnight, I've kind of gotten used to it - that initial sexual frustration has subsided, thankfully.  I still have a fantastic sex drive but I feel I have more control over it.

I'll update later in the week after seeing my surgeon for the 16-day follow up, and then weekly or if there are any noteworthy developments.  Happy to field questions from anyone!

P

[LWillisjr]

Thanks for posting and keep us update. Posting this level of detail helps others with regards to surgery and expectations.

[porkchopsandwiches]

Update 23rd August

So far so good - 19 days since surgery.  Incision has healed well, the scar is barely visible and each day I am getting a greater range of movement in the skin as the swelling decreases.

The surgeon is happy with my progress.  I asked about my current difficulty with foreskin retraction, and he said that this will take a couple of months to go back to normal.  I can get it all the way back now with a bit of effort but no pain.  The main suture sites are visible under the skin now.

I was able to 'take care of business' in the shower yesterday morning, although awkwardly (although I know I probably shouldn't have).  I was able to get a relatively decent erection, and one that is (yay!) very straight.  With the residual swelling, particularly around the multiple suture sites in the tunica, it's hard to predict what the final result is going to be.  Although most of the swelling appears to have gone, my penis still feels somewhat rigid under the skin, not soft and bouncy like it used to be.  This rigidity gets more prominent towards the base.  I'm hoping that the resistance by the sutures and remaining swelling will decrease over the next couple of months as well.  I'll keep posting as things progress.

P

[Stabler]

Porkchopsandwiches,

Thank you for keeping us updated on your progress, it sounds like things are going well and that you had an excellent surgeon. Make sure you follow his instruction so that recovery can be 100% I am sure that waiting for this to be completed is hard but it will be important.

Hugs Mamma

[porkchopsandwiches]

One month update

So it's been a month - pain is all but gone, aside from awkward nocturnal erections.  No pain during an 'unencumbered' erection - just tightness.  Still straight.

To date I've written something of an objective review - let's talk about the important stuff.

SIZE.  Right now at full steam I'm 11.5cm - around 4.5 inches.  9cm flaccid.  While it's straight, it's a stark contrast from the 6.5 inches I used to be.  Even the shorter side when the Peyronies struck was 6.  Not sure where the rest has gone (geometrically it doesn't make sense), but after four weeks, a niggling, sinking feeling starts to set in.  The tunica is still somewhat rigid when flaccid, suggesting that there's some sort of residual swelling or general tissue inflammation.  I really hope it subsides over time and I am able to gain back more elasticity to allow the chambers to fill adequately.  Well, that's the hypothesis I'm running with.

The second issue with the size reduction is that now I have too much foreskin and not enough penis.  Visually, it doesn't look right.  Functionally, it's problematic.  I'm starting to wonder if I should have opted for a circumcision after all.

I'm sure patience is key, however I think that sharing the psychological aspects of this experience is also important for others.  Will keep updating.

P

[Pfract]

Good news! But have they recommended any stretching device post op, so there is no retraction? maybe you can gain back some size...

[porkchopsandwiches]

The surgeon hasn't recommended anything post-surgery yet - I'll talk to him about it in my next review appointment.  Things are still pretty tender down there so I'd be reluctant to start with traction until it's healed further - although some might argue that there's a risk in allowing things to settle too far (I'm aware of the medical studies regarding post-op traction).

I have both an Andropenis and a Phallosan Forte in the drawer here so I'm prepared for the eventuality.

[AeroT]

don't worry about size for now. I lost more than I had expected initially, but it comes back over time. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd expect you'd get at least half that difference back. Also, once you heal up more you can start traction exercises which will help stretch things back out.

don't regret the circumcision decision either. You can always opt to do it later, and you'll have more freedom to chose how you want it done.

[porkchopsandwiches]

Apologies for the delayed reply... but six weeks on, and some more good news!

After a bit of shower massaging and LIGHT stretching after the four week mark, and as the swelling continues to reduce, more size has returned - enough size that it's no longer an real issue.  Erect I'm up at a touch shy of 14cm (5.5") - more than respectable.  This means that all in all, including the Peyronies AND the surgery, I've lost in the region of 1" - however, having always had something of a congenital curve as well, it's likely less than that when we think about the logistics of intercourse.

Aero - you were right - it does come back.  

Stepone - they will hurt for a while.  Weeks.  I was able to get fully hard after about a month - before that, I think that the pain and inflammation restricts your body's ability to achieve a full erection.  Erections in underwear seem to hurt more than unrestricted ones.  At four weeks, night erections were still very uncomfortable but fine in the shower.  At six weeks, there's a bit of tension but no real pain - the suture sites are still a bit tender to press on but otherwise not an issue.

Overall I think there's a considerable period of anxiety for anyone who's gone through the surgery - while we read the forums and be assured by our surgeons, when it's your own dick it's completely different.  All I can say is to be patient and allow the healing process to do it's thing.  However, if there's anything you think is out of the ordinary (even if you think it's 'right') talk to the surgeon.

I am considering posting before and after pics in the near future.

P

[LWillisjr]

Great news P,

Thanks!