Sudden collapse of MS pump bulb when cycling

[LGXDownunder]

The other night I had a heart stopping moment with my MS pump when cycling in the shower. I had pumped fully beforehand and then did some Perito bending etc, adding as many pumps as possible until extremely hard. Suddenly the pump bulb collapsed fully and I thought I had either run out of fluid, or something had gone awry with the tubing or connectors etc and I was leaking fluid internally somewhere.

I quickly hit the deflate button and tried pumping again. Thankfully everything then operated as it should. I have pumped and cycled several times since to regain my confidence that nothing is broken. So far so good. The bulb does feel a little softer when pumping, but that might be just paranoia setting in.

By pure coincidence I had an appointment the following morning with my implant surgeon, who is also my regular uro, for an annual post PC PSA checkup (all clear). So I discussed it with him and he explained a very technical reason why it might have happened, and which I've totally forgotten. I vaguely remember words like backflow being used. Anyway once I told him that the implant seems to be functioning normally he was not concerned.

I think I've read of a few guys on FT that have had similar isolated occurrences.
Has anyone else experienced the same with their MS pump and were there any further issues?

[lasthope2.0]

Hi LgxDownunder,

I don’t have the MS Pump myself, but it sounds like you handled this perfectly and resolved it on your own! This seems actually a normal characteristic of the pump’s mechanism. Here’s what I found when I looked it up:

Likely Reason:
The internal poppet valve (a small movable stainless-steel pin inside a silicone housing/sealant ring in the deflation block) has become stuck in the deflated/lock-out position due to stiction (static friction between the stainless-steel poppet pin and the silicone housing/sealant ring/skirt). This is a well-documented, non-mechanical issue in the AMS 700 MS Pump (often called “Stiction Syndrome”). It prevents the poppet valve from shifting properly to the inflation (“activated”) position, blocking efficient fluid flow from the reservoir into the pump bulb.

From the operating room manual: (See Page 30)
https://www.bostonscientific.com/conten ... M_en_s.pdf

Pump bulb dimpled or collapsed
What to do:
-Squeeze the deflation button to refill the pump bulb. Move fingers away from the deflation button. Reactivate with a firm/hard, quick pump bulb squeeze. Inflate normally.

-If this does not resolve the problem, squeeze the sides of the deflation block to refill the pump bulb. Then squeeze the deflation button for 2-4 seconds to reset the lock-out mechanism prior to attempting inflation. Reactivate with a firm/hard, quick pump bulb squeeze. Inflate normally.

-Do not squeeze the deflation button and the pump bulb at the same time.