State of current implants on the market

[Crtrader]

I have absolutely no medical or engineering background. I am hoping to get an implant within the next few weeks. I have been researching the implants currently available on the market and have come to this conclusion (again- as a layman): There is a duopoly, Coloplast & AMS- Bought by BSX. The design,engineering and technology seem very outdated. It just seems they are years behind what could be created at this moment. One prime example is all the comments on the pump being ridiculously hard to pump and operate. Shouldn’t it work nice and easy out of the box? I’m sure a team could design,engineer,and build something superior in no time. I think this medical device category needs some competition. In the meantime, I’m trying to decide which of my 2 choices I want.

[rufuswd]

Mine is a AMX 700. 22 days out pain and swelling about gone. AND THE DAMN PUMP WON'T PUMP! Hard as a rock. Waiting for response from PA. Others seem to be having good luck with theirs.

[Agfa13]

Crtrader, you are right on all counts, but in my humble opinion, until Inflatable Penile Prosthesis (IPP) and Penile Prosthesis are brought to the front, like artificial limbs, AMS and Coloplast will continue to be the only 2 suppliers out there. Money comes into play, so until there is more competition.
I have a Rigicon, but intend on replacing it later if I want more rigidity.

[Crtrader]

Crtrader, you are right on all counts, but in my humble opinion, until Inflatable Penile Prosthesis (IPP) and Penile Prosthesis are brought to the front, like artificial limbs, AMS and Coloplast will continue to be the only 2 suppliers out there. Money comes into play, so until there is more competition.
I have a Rigicon, but intend on replacing it later if I want more rigidity.

[Crtrader]

Crtrader, you are right on all counts, but in my humble opinion, until Inflatable Penile Prosthesis (IPP) and Penile Prosthesis are brought to the front, like artificial limbs, AMS and Coloplast will continue to be the only 2 suppliers out there. Money comes into play, so until there is more competition.
I have a Rigicon, but intend on replacing it later if I want more rigidity.

.

Thanks for your reply- hope your recovery is going well. Originally I was thinking Tactra, but now thinking I might not be happy with a semi rigid. I’d love to hear from someone who got a Tactra. What are your thoughts on the Rigicon? Did you ever find out why Kramer picked it? Thanks

[544kenmatt]

I would love to have it work with a remote control. Now, that would be progress! I suppose you would need a powerful motor and battery to make that work. I am in week 7 and the bulb is very hard at the start. I hold the block with my left hand and squeeze with my right. AMS has a detailed video on you tube that describes several techniques of pumping. You really have to squeeze it very forcefully to get it to compress. It is about ten days since I've started cycling and it is easing up already.

[Lost Sheep]

I have absolutely no medical or engineering background. I am hoping to get an implant within the next few weeks. I have been researching the implants currently available on the market and have come to this conclusion (again- as a layman): There is a duopoly, Coloplast & AMS- Bought by BSX. The design,engineering and technology seem very outdated. It just seems they are years behind what could be created at this moment. One prime example is all the comments on the pump being ridiculously hard to pump and operate. Shouldn’t it work nice and easy out of the box? I’m sure a team could design,engineer,and build something superior in no time. I think this medical device category needs some competition. In the meantime, I’m trying to decide which of my 2 choices I want.

It is tough to design a pump that meets all these criteria:

Easy to use without being able to see it or even to feel it very well.
Easy to switch between inflate and deflate modes
In a housing of extremely limited size
As reliable as any mechanical device can be made
Leak-proof (both external leakage and internal)

Having a single button to switch between inflate and deflate has GOT to be a tough design to create. Two control buttons would be pretty complex to operate inside one's scrotum!

I hear you on the need for a better device and "they" are working on designs. Heat-activated memory metal (no pump, liquid or reservoir required) is the latest I have heard. But it requires an external device to fire it up.

In the meantime, I still haven't figured out why they cannot break in the pump bulb before shipping it out. That seems to me to be simple enough and would have negligible impact on service life of the pump. Instead, the suffering new implantee has to struggle against post-up discomfort AND breaking in (softening up) the pump bulb. Sadists!

[Greg1956]

It does seem like penile prosthetics should be more advanced than they are. I saw a tv show where there is the technology now for a prosthetic hand to operate by brainwaves. The person wearing it can use their mind to control the grip so there is a difference between holding someone's hand and a stronger grip to lift something heavy. It Boulder be great if our minds could tell the implant to get hard.

That said, I am extremely happy with my AMS700LGX. Personally, I think much of the difficulty with pumping comes from the body not being ready to take it. For me it was difficult while I was healing, but got to be pretty easy after that.

[Robert66]

I have absolutely no medical or engineering background. I am hoping to get an implant within the next few weeks. I have been researching the implants currently available on the market and have come to this conclusion (again- as a layman): There is a duopoly, Coloplast & AMS- Bought by BSX. The design,engineering and technology seem very outdated. It just seems they are years behind what could be created at this moment. One prime example is all the comments on the pump being ridiculously hard to pump and operate. Shouldn’t it work nice and easy out of the box? I’m sure a team could design,engineer,and build something superior in no time. I think this medical device category needs some competition. In the meantime, I’m trying to decide which of my 2 choices I want.

It is tough to design a pump that meets all these criteria:

Easy to use without being able to see it or even to feel it very well.
Easy to switch between inflate and deflate modes
In a housing of extremely limited size
As reliable as any mechanical device can be made
Leak-proof (both external leakage and internal)

Having a single button to switch between inflate and deflate has GOT to be a tough design to create. Two control buttons would be pretty complex to operate inside one's scrotum!

I hear you on the need for a better device and "they" are working on designs. Heat-activated memory metal (no pump, liquid or reservoir required) is the latest I have heard. But it requires an external device to fire it up.

In the meantime, I still haven't figured out why they cannot break in the pump bulb before shipping it out. That seems to me to be simple enough and would have negligible impact on service life of the pump. Instead, the suffering new implantee has to struggle against post-up discomfort AND breaking in (softening up) the pump bulb. Sadists!

Nt enugh peole know implants exist so market too small yu guys are lucky look at injections ? Nt much change in 40 years