Bulging Reservoir tubing

[garagegymmike]

Saw my surgeon today. He admitted that it was a loop of tubing. (It is below the JP drain wound and to the left of my penis). He painfully pulled on the pump and tried to manipulate it in. Painful. He thought it helped a bit and encouraged me to continue doing this. He said that because of the size, he added tubing with a connector (I don't quite understand this). After he left the room and I got up to get dressed, the bulge still seemed to be the same size. I have an appointment on the 17th to begin cycling. He's supposed to check it then. I am not sure that he has seen this before. I'm going to follow his instructions, but if it is not better, I really think he needs to consider repositioning the reservoir and tubing. He's cautious to do that because it is invasive, and I certainly don't fault him for that. While this is a disappointing outcome in that respect, I believe he's a very good surgeon. It just may take a bit to get this resolved. I was hoping not to lose my whole summer to recovery.

As a sidenote, he was taken aback when I asked him about regaining size when I begin cycling. I assumed that any surgeon would expect such a question. Made me feel a bit foolish.

[oldbeek]

honestly hiding the tubing is an art.

Most brands come preconnected with a certain length of tubing (which is a one size fits all, and often longer than needed). This causes more often than not some redundancy of the tubing.

Some doctors send the tubes up the shaft of the penis which makes them very palpable. Other doctors know how to do some tricks to hide this in the scrotum. And finally, some doctors (like Clavell and Kramer) actually cut the tubing to the exact size you need.

The benefit of cutting the tubing is you won't have redundant tubing going in circles in your scrotum or going up the shaft. The theoretical downside of cutting the tubes is that the connectors could become a weak spot. That being said, i haven't seen anyone have a revision because of a failed connector (at least on this forum, there might be though).

lots of failures at connectors. that is why I demanded pre connected kit. you
u will forget all about it 5 to6 moths out it is normal. 7 years out

[Discovernew]

honestly hiding the tubing is an art.

Most brands come preconnected with a certain length of tubing (which is a one size fits all, and often longer than needed). This causes more often than not some redundancy of the tubing.

Some doctors send the tubes up the shaft of the penis which makes them very palpable. Other doctors know how to do some tricks to hide this in the scrotum. And finally, some doctors (like Clavell and Kramer) actually cut the tubing to the exact size you need.

The benefit of cutting the tubing is you won't have redundant tubing going in circles in your scrotum or going up the shaft. The theoretical downside of cutting the tubes is that the connectors could become a weak spot. That being said, i haven't seen anyone have a revision because of a failed connector (at least on this forum, there might be though).

lots of failures at connectors. that is why I demanded pre connected kit. you
u will forget all about it 5 to6 moths out it is normal. 7 years out

Hi Oldbeek. Can you mention your source for "lots of failures at connectors"? i watched many revision cases online and i haven't found one caused by a connector so far. (it probably exists but if you have a source will be glad to see it).

I did see a lot of tubing failures, but not specifically because of the connector, just the tubing itself broke.

Again, i am not an expert of course but would love to see your source for that.

[prguy3]

When I spoke with Dr. Clavell, I specifically asked him if there are many failures associated to the connector sites and he told me that has not been his experience. In his experience, Most of the time, the failure is in the tubing away from the connectors. which make sense if you think about it. Redundant tubing can cause the tubing to bend and create a weakness point for it to fail in the future.

I personally would prefer to have less tubing, which is why I chose Dr. Clavell.

[Discovernew]

When I spoke with Dr. Clavell, I specifically asked him if there are many failures associated to the connector sites and he told me that has not been his experience. In his experience, Most of the time, the failure is in the tubing away from the connectors. which make sense if you think about it. Redundant tubing can cause the tubing to bend and create a weakness point for it to fail in the future.

I personally would prefer to have less tubing, which is why I chose Dr. Clavell.

I read that clavell hides the tubing well. Do you feel the tubes anywhere in your penis? And want to ask you what is the position of the pump? Is it at the level of the testicles, or lower or higher, behind or in front, to the left or right or centered?

[prguy3]

When I spoke with Dr. Clavell, I specifically asked him if there are many failures associated to the connector sites and he told me that has not been his experience. In his experience, Most of the time, the failure is in the tubing away from the connectors. which make sense if you think about it. Redundant tubing can cause the tubing to bend and create a weakness point for it to fail in the future.

I personally would prefer to have less tubing, which is why I chose Dr. Clavell.

I read that clavell hides the tubing well. Do you feel the tubes anywhere in your penis? And want to ask you what is the position of the pump? Is it at the level of the testicles, or lower or higher, behind or in front, to the left or right or centered?

He trimmed the tubing. The pump is behind the testicles in the center and the tubing is only palpable if I lift my penis against my belly. Otherwise, it is barely noticeable or palpable. I am very happy with how everything feels for now. Will let you know my final opinion once I test it He did mention to me recently to avoid lifting the penis up at all times during the early recovery period to avoid the tubing from moving and the pump to ride high while it is still healing and there is inflammation in the scrotum. He prefers his patients to "let it hang" if possible.

[Discovernew]

When I spoke with Dr. Clavell, I specifically asked him if there are many failures associated to the connector sites and he told me that has not been his experience. In his experience, Most of the time, the failure is in the tubing away from the connectors. which make sense if you think about it. Redundant tubing can cause the tubing to bend and create a weakness point for it to fail in the future.

I personally would prefer to have less tubing, which is why I chose Dr. Clavell.

I read that clavell hides the tubing well. Do you feel the tubes anywhere in your penis? And want to ask you what is the position of the pump? Is it at the level of the testicles, or lower or higher, behind or in front, to the left or right or centered?

He trimmed the tubing. The pump is behind the testicles in the center and the tubing is only palpable if I lift my penis against my belly. Otherwise, it is barely noticeable or palpable. I am very happy with how everything feels for now. Will let you know my final opinion once I test it He did mention to me recently to avoid lifting the penis up at all times during the early recovery period to avoid the tubing from moving and the pump to ride high while it is still healing and there is inflammation in the scrotum. He prefers his patients to "let it hang" if possible.

Thank you! i heard Clavell is very good at hiding the tubing and pump, which can be an issue for many people

[ElbowRoom]

lots of failures at connectors. that is why I demanded pre connected kit. you
u will forget all about it 5 to6 moths out it is normal. 7 years out

Interesting. In a surgical video Dr. Hakky said he never once saw a Coloplast "quick connector" fail or leak. I assume most tubing failures are in the tubes themselves, not the connectors.

[ElbowRoom]

Thank you! i heard Clavell is very good at hiding the tubing and pump, which can be an issue for many people

Penoscrotal approach aids this, which is what Clavell does. It's harder or impossible to tuck all the tubing away fully hidden from above with an infrapubic approach. Doesn't mean one is better or worse, just each has its challenges.

[Discovernew]

Thank you! i heard Clavell is very good at hiding the tubing and pump, which can be an issue for many people

Penoscrotal approach aids this, which is what Clavell does. It's harder or impossible to tuck all the tubing away fully hidden from above with an infrapubic approach. Doesn't mean one is better or worse, just each has its challenges.

It is not only about penoscrotal, but the fact that he actually cuts the tubes to make them shorter. Where most doctors use the preconnected length and often end up with redundant tubing running circles in the scrotum.