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3 Things to Consider Before Penile Prosthesis Surgery

17Nov

Dawn sat down with Dr. Tom Walsh of the University of Washington's Department of Urology to ask what are the most important things to consider before contemplating penile prosthesis surgery. An excellent speaker, Dr. Walsh called out three things patients should consider:

 

  1. Patients that have had the surgery have a remarkably high satisfaction rate (95%)
  2. It's not a completely natural erection - don't expect the erection you had when you were 18. However, as the erection does not depend on blood flow, it will last as long as you want it to, which may partially explain the high levels of satisfaction
  3. Like people, every surgery is unique so spend sometime finding an experienced surgeon. Experience also counts before surgery as a good surgeon will lead you to a penile prosthesis on a pace that is best for you.

 

This is Dawn's last post with Brokenhandle. She'll be providing us with some advice going forward but her schedule is too busy for her to commit on a regular basis. We really appreciate her helping us establish the site!

Tagged ED ipp penile prosthesis
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Inflatable Penile Prosthesis: A Patient's Expectations

12Nov
In my first post on IPP surgery from a patient's perspective, we met Dennis and he told us the story that led to him choosing to undergoe inflatable penile prosthesis surgery. Dennis is about a week away from his surgery so I wanted to know what his exectations might be. On November 8, Dennis met with Dr. Govier and discussed his expectations. Here's what Dennis had to say after their meeting:

My wife and I met with Dr. Govier and went through the IPP surgical procedure. He spoke to the risk of this surgery which is mainly the 2% possibility of infection and to a lesser extent failure of the mechanism.  He emphasized the recovery; the first week there will be a lot of pain pills and you must stay flat as much as possible. The second week I can ride in the car for two hours to visit friends in Eastern Washington and walk upstairs to a bedroom. Life returns to normal after that except no strenuous lifting. He wants his patients to see him at six weeks for instruction on the use of the IPP. He said not to judge its performance for six months. The flesh of the penis needs to be gradually stretched again and again. One recommendation is to use the vacuum device as a daily exercise inflating the penis five times for two minutes. The satisfaction statistics are that 92% of couples are satisfied and it gets better and better during the first year. This was also what the patient advocate couples told my wife and me when we spoke with them, deciding to move ahead with the AMS 700 IPP procedure. In short, the surgery takes 1hr and 15minutes, there is some pain in recovery the first week and you take it easy for 4 weeks. You begin to use the implant at six weeks and use makes it better and better.

I think it's really important to set your expectations properly. Talk to your surgeon and if you have the chance, talk to guys that have undergone inflatable penile prosthesis surgery. And don't forget to include your partner. They might have some great questions that you haven't thought of. 

If you've undergone an IPP, were your expecations met? Did you and your partner ask the surgeon questions like Dennis and his wife? If you're about to get an IPP, what are your expectations?
Tagged ipp patient penile penile implant prosthesis urologist
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Inflatable Penile Prosthesis: A patient's perspective

2Nov

I recently had the good fortune of meeting Dennis who was diagnosed with prostate cancer during a routine physical and elected to have a radical prostatectomy. Unfortunately, a side effect of his prostatectomy was ED. He and his wife had questions about penile implant surgery and were frustrated with being unable to connect with someone who had gone through this type of surgery. Dennis offered to share his experience so that others might be saved the same frustrations.

After serving as a naval officer, Dennis led a successful business career as president of his Seattle company and as an outside Director on the board of a privately held New York company. After retiring, Dennis and his wife have remained active in their community and church. This is his story.

“I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer during a routine annual physical and elected to have a radical prostatectomy. There are two worrisome side affects: urinary incontinence and ED. I have been lucky in that my PSA readings for the past two years have been undetectable. Looks pretty good that the cancer is gone. I have had very little problems with urinary control but I did end up with ED. I am fortunate to have chosen Virginia Mason Medical Center for all my health care needs as they have a large Urology department and take a team approach. Soon after my ED was diagnosed I started an educational process that took me through Viagra, Cialis, vacuum and injection therapies. I had negative reactions to these, which led to the question, ‘what now?’

I met with Dr. Govier, the Chief of Surgery and also the head of the Urology Department at Virginia Mason, where he explained the IPP (Inflatable Penile Prosthesis) procedure. I instinctively felt this was what I was looking for but had a very difficult time researching what one’s life style is like post surgery. I had lots of questions about the recovery, how one felt with this implement installed inside the body and its reasonable functionality. Because my questions were not getting answered I postponed the surgery almost a year. I was finally able to connect with a couple AMS patient advocates and their partners. My wife and I had questions about the surgery and they were able to answer all our questions. I am now convinced this is what I want and am scheduled for surgery in November. I am confident the AMS penile implant, Virginia Mason and Dr. Govier come together as an exceptional team and am looking forward to the outcome."

I am so happy Dennis offered to share this deeply personal experience and look forward to his thoughts on questions I hear regularly from patients. As Dennis’ story shows, it can be frustrating to find information from a patient’s perspective. My hope is for this to become a place for you to find answers. Please feel free to ask questions or share your experiences below. And remember, there aren’t any dumb questions!!

Tagged ED IPP cancer prostate
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