Is this doctor good enough for implant surgery?

[macoza]

The fact that you have not mentioned the drs name is an even bigger red flag to me.

You never asked. His name is Dr Leon Telis.

Drs pay for malpractice insurance based on the number of related surgeries in a category. In the implant category there are other procedures included. Him saying he does 40 implants a year could be him quoting how many related surgeries he is paying insurance on. For example, if it was 1 implant & 39 baby circumcisions would he look as competent to you. Or 2 implants & 38 bladder repairs on old women?

He specifically said penile implant surgeries, nothing else when I asked him.

Be very careful about numbers that are thrown around casually. It is your only dick. Ask detailed questions. English can be spoken in a twisted manner.

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I agree. I'm confused now. I live in NYC so if my insurance (health first) covers it I'm sure high volume doctors who accept that insurance can cover that surgery too.

[Valdekio]

What is his name?

His name is Dr Leon Telis.

His name appears on the Boston Scientific search site but not on the Coloplast search site. Looks like he's been doing it for about nine years. Which device were you looking at getting implanted?

[LetoMan]

I recall there is a study (Dr. Eid was one of the authors) that noted that there is a benefit in risk of infection or necessity of a revision when using a “high volume” implanter. But, it defined high volume as more than 31 per year.

There is a lot of fetishization of the docs who only do implants on this site. But the literature seems to suggest that the value comes at a much lower level of experience than *only* doing implants and revisions. If you have an experienced surgeon that does one implant or more a month, for several years, at that point I would consider things like infection rates much more important than just how many implants they have done.

[Asdefxx]

Asdefxx, yes.
I have annual enrollment this week for 2026. I contacted the three plans offered at work, asked about these CPT codes, and enrolled in the one that said, ‘You’re covered with a $2,000 copay,’ without the complicated medical-necessity caveats. (Goodbye, to my old Aetna plan.). Of course, things can get highly subjective to an employer's specific commercial plan.

Thank you, I'll do the same then. Just in time for benefits enrollment season too.

Personally I'm cautious of friend referrals. You never know if he is a "friend" from golfing or church.

Be very careful about numbers that are thrown around casually. It is your only dick. Ask detailed questions. English can be spoken in a twisted manner.

I guess my point is that YOU have to be your own advocate. Words don't always mean what you think they do.

These are such great points. Wish the whole world thought like you.

Remember everyone, "there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

[Kodixx]

Asdefxx, that's one of my favorite sayings -- haven't heard it in years !

- Chuck

Remember everyone, "there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

[Asdefxx]

I would also contact the insurance company to check if these CPT codes are covered by your plan.

54405 (inflatable)
54400 (semirigid)
(CPT - Current Procedural Terminology)

Whelp, it's done. Both CPTs are NOT covered under my plan. Hooray. Better start preparing myself psychologically to drop $20k on this.

She said "the doctor can submit a predetermination request for further review" but I have no idea the success rate on that.

[ElbowRoom]

Sorry, can you elaborate on this? Do I literally just call up my insurance company and ask "hey may I ask if CPTs 54400 and 54405 are covered under my plan?"

That's what I did...I called and asked if the code was a covered procedure. They came back with "based on medical need" which is what you'll probably get if it's covered. That just means it's covered under the plan, but it's subject to approval by a review board to approve the procedure based on your medical history and information.

Once I had that information I told my surgeon's office and they submitted all of the information to the insurance company to get it approved, which it was. If it gets denied the first time through there's usually an appeals process that might involve more testing.

Good luck!