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?
