Torn on a decision and need advice/guidance

[Gordon]

Get some information on Dr Christine. He did mine Birmingham Alabama. He is very good and has an excellent since of humor. Check him out on youtube. He has very informative information.

[Cecnc1]

Check out Baptist Wake Forest Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC. Dr. Terlecki. Cash price just under 14k for everything. Excellent surgeon with excellent stats. Infection rate essentially zero. He did mine 2 months ago. Very pleased so far.

[Captain1117]

Check out Baptist Wake Forest Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC. Dr. Terlecki. Cash price just under 14k for everything. Excellent surgeon with excellent stats. Infection rate essentially zero. He did mine 2 months ago. Very pleased so far.

14k sounds interesting. Does anyone know how many does he do per year.

[Gt1956]

I feel that I should throw out a small warning. Just looking at price could be misleading. Some doctors use surgery centers that can cut the cost by quite a bit. Just looking at the bottom prices isn't truly looking at what you're getting & why it is priced at that level. There is a chance that whoever quotes a price might not be quoting the bottom price. In order to compare, you need to equalize the level of service.

[Cecnc1]

Check out Baptist Wake Forest Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC. Dr. Terlecki. Cash price just under 14k for everything. Excellent surgeon with excellent stats. Infection rate essentially zero. He did mine 2 months ago. Very pleased so far.

14k sounds interesting. Does anyone know how many does he do per year.

He does over 100 a year. He a professor at Wake Forest school of medicine. Truly worth checking out.

[Maverick2dog]

Dr Christine, did a very complex revision for me a little over a year ago. It turn out well, better than expected. I would use him again.

Mav

[TANGERINE]

I just saw this question and I am willing to put in my opinion here.

Choosing a surgeon is very difficult, because you do not really have the capability to figure out how talented they are for your particular situation.

I think one of the good thing about your situation is that it is very likely that you will have "at least as good and big" of an implant as what you have now since the surgeon will know exactly what was installed before and can use those install tracks as a guide.

It seems that the complaints that implant guys have regarsding their surgeon is:
a) infection
b) sizing
c) inflate bulb location
d) numbness

For a revision, sizing is likely not an issue (for the reasons mentioned above). the bulb location is tricky, and does require a talented surgeon (but talent is NOT a monopoly to just a few docs). The infection rate depends on your surgeon and on the surgi-center and on your immune system (so the quality and cleanliness of the surgery center is imporant). Numbeness is known to be a problem for repeat operations done from infrapubic (above the penis) incisions.

So, I think going with a surgeon who is really good at peno-scrotal is very key. I think going to a place that has really solid infection control is key (but you have no real way of figuring that out).

Your pricing was very useful, and the price reflects not just the fame and notoriety of the surgeon but also the overall price of medical care in that particular geographic region.

I have personal experience with Dr Karpman (though he did not do my original install) and I like him very much and he is truly a rock star quality implant surgeon (ie, you are getting great value for his price). I wonder if the ten thousand dollar price differential was because some offices quoted you a rate that included the cost of the implant (roughly 9 thousand dollars)---do realize that many revision cases are able to get the implant cost waived because manufacturers have a lifetime guarantee ?

I wish I could be definitive here, but as you can tell from other posts, if you have had a great result, then you love your surgeon, and if you have a lousy result, you hate your surgeon. so I guess the most important thing is to ask the office for a list of guys that you can call to see if they are happy.

good luck (and yes, covid 19 means that things are on hold likely until the summer)

[medhatg]

Thank you gentlemen for all the great advice. I settled on Dr. Karpman and my revision is being scheduled this month.

[WindWizard]

Thank you gentlemen for all the great advice. I settled on Dr. Karpman and my revision is being scheduled this month.

Dr. Karpman did my implant surgery in October of last year. So far I am very satisfied with my results.

You are in good hands if you go with Dr. Karpman, he will take top care of you.

[TANGERINE]

congrats on your choice. Please realize,in my opnion, going with karpmann is not "settling"....

Everything I read here on franktalk, and also based on my office visits with him, seems to indicate that he is talented and gets great results. I do not remember ever reading a negative review on franktalk about karpman.

so you are in great hands, and it will be useful to all of us for you to post your experience so we can learn about karpman, who many have said , is "the best in the US west"