Postby newbie443 » Thu May 06, 2021 4:14 pm
This is like many of the things with implant. Some depend on us and some with the doctor. As Waynetho posted it depends on the severity of the infection and also your treating doctor. If caught early it can be treated with medication. No surgery. Some doctors are able to do salvage where the device is removed and washed out and another put in. Many do not. they just remove and wash out and will not try again for 6 months. Many will place a malleable in but again some do not. And in really severe cases where it is let go yes it can be game over. But this is where local after care with a really good doctor is important. And why wound care and getting in touch with your doctor at the first sign of infection is so important. Caught early and with quick attention it can be resolved with minimum bad results. But if your doctor does not place a malleable in and you are left empty for 6 months the there is a fair amount of size loss. And even with a really good doctor if not caught early this is a possibility. Only in the most severe cases though is this a game over result.
The bio film that surround's the device can have a lot of bacteria. When I had my repair 3 weeks ago the doctor took 3 swabs of the fluid that surround my pump, tubing, and left cylinder. This was the inside of the Pseudo-capsule that surrounded the components he removed to do the repair. All were negative for infection and I was lucky. I cannot remember the percentage but it was something like 40 or 60 percent of all men have this infection but it is sealed off and not a problem until you have another surgery. So my doctor did the swabs and checked for this. I would guess had they come back positive that additional steps would have been taken. He did do a wash out of my left corporal body and the other components. 3 1/2 weeks and so far no infection. This is why infection rates are higher for revision surgeries than for the first implant surgery. But a really good doctor that takes the proper steps and checks for this can reduce this greatly.
So it is very very important to follow your doctors instruction and have strict wound care. And be as healthy as you can before and after surgery. 3 days prior to my surgery I showered with antibacterial soap, used hibiclens to wash from my belly button to mid thigh, and wiped down penis, scrotum, inner thighs and pubic pad with alcohol wipes. And I had white cotton underwear that I washed in bleach and put in plastic baggies from the dryer to prevent being contaminated. And was very strict on wound care and following my doctors instructions. You can also add a cup of bleach to your bath water and set in this for 30 minutes for the 3 days prior to surgery. This bleach soak was recommended in the past by a well known NY doctor. His opinion was that a good percentage of infection came from the man who was being operated on as it was in the skin.
So what happens depends on many things. My local doctors do not do revisions and would have just removed the implant and done a wash out. But other doctors would have place a malleable if surgery was required. And only in extremely severe cases can this be a game over deal. A past moderator of this board had a really severe case by a not really good doctor in Canada. But did not accept the game over and had multiple surgeries to restore what had been taken away. So even in some of the severe cases there can still be a path back.
So if you figure the odds and really good doctors having infection rates below 1% and then the very small percentage of that less than 1% that can have severe infection then your odds are really great. But you really should not even let it get close to being severe. As long as we do our part and get help at the first sign of infection this is not a game over condition and it can be resolved.
Injections failed. Implanted 3-21-18 AMS 700 LGX 21 + 1 RTE 100 cc reservoir 6.5" L 5" G Dr. Kramer.
Proximal Perforation Sling Repair 4/13/21 Dr. Broghammer
67 years young.
Will show and tell and talk with others.