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I am now one year post-op and really enjoying Dr. Francois Eid's work. He told me to pump it up every day for as long as I could stand it for a week or so afterwards to avoid losing length due to scar contracture. I live in California and my local uro, who removed the stitches and did all the follow up, told me to pump every day for a year in order to keep my length. I did and it seems to have worked - kept my length. Now that I am at the one year mark, I was wondering what anyone else does to maintain it - I know if you don't stretch and use things, you lose use, but at what point is it just wear on the device? Now that I'm a year out and kept my length, I was thinking of only pumping it up when I use it, which is a few times a week, to save wear. I am wondering what anyone else was told regarding pumping it up to keep length and how long you did it for and at what point you stopped. How often do you guys pump it up? Only for use or any maintenance for length?

I do not think there is any set protocol. I've found none on the manufacturers web sites. Doctors all seem to have varying opinions. I even had one doctor ( Lavine) tell me 2 differing things in the same visit. First he said I need to pump as much as possible as far as possible and do the modeling, then 5 minutes later told me to pump the least number of pumps needed for a degree of firmness and only when needed because the pumps wear out and have a high failure rate. Spin the wheel, there is only one bankrupt on the board.

william7 wrote:I am now one year post-op and really enjoying Dr. Francois Eid's work. He told me to pump it up every day for as long as I could stand it for a week or so afterwards to avoid losing length due to scar contracture. I live in California and my local uro, who removed the stitches and did all the follow up, told me to pump every day for a year in order to keep my length. I did and it seems to have worked - kept my length. Now that I am at the one year mark, I was wondering what anyone else does to maintain it - I know if you don't stretch and use things, you lose use, but at what point is it just wear on the device? Now that I'm a year out and kept my length, I was thinking of only pumping it up when I use it, which is a few times a week, to save wear. I am wondering what anyone else was told regarding pumping it up to keep length and how long you did it for and at what point you stopped. How often do you guys pump it up? Only for use or any maintenance for length?

I still pump up at least once a day, usually right before I get into the shower in the morning. By time time I shower and do my morning wash-up about 30 minutes have passed. Then I deflate right before getting dressed for the day. I also usually pump up before doing my evening prep for bed (i.e. brushing my teeth, etc.) and of course, when my bride and I make love.

KMeister

william7 wrote:I am now one year post-op and really enjoying Dr. Francois Eid's work. He told me to pump it up every day for as long as I could stand it for a week or so afterwards to avoid losing length due to scar contracture. I live in California and my local uro, who removed the stitches and did all the follow up, told me to pump every day for a year in order to keep my length. I did and it seems to have worked - kept my length. Now that I am at the one year mark, I was wondering what anyone else does to maintain it - I know if you don't stretch and use things, you lose use, but at what point is it just wear on the device? Now that I'm a year out and kept my length, I was thinking of only pumping it up when I use it, which is a few times a week, to save wear. I am wondering what anyone else was told regarding pumping it up to keep length and how long you did it for and at what point you stopped. How often do you guys pump it up? Only for use or any maintenance for length?

Dr. Kramer did my implant in 2008. I don't recall any specific recommendations about frequency of inflating, but due to health circumstances (I had a stroke) my implant has never been used. At Dr. Kramer's suggestion I inflate it for a few minutes every 5 or 6 weeks or so and haven't seen any sign of atrophy or loss of length or girth. Based on what I've observed, at least for me daily pumping over an extended period of time hasn't been necessary to prevent loss of length;

This is a very good question!
I think the prevailing protocol and idea here on FT is to inflate frequently in order to preserve, or even gain, size.
Many claim they have gained (or rather regained lost) size after surgery as they have inflated daily.
On the other hand, we don't know if the same size gains would have been made without that daily inflating. Would the same results have been achieved if only inflating 2 times per week as if inflating 2 times per day? What about two times per month?
Again, nobody here knows. Because all of us only have one dick and we can only choose one protocol. We can't choose two and compare them.

To me, logic tells me two things:

Size: If there is such a thing as tissue expansion, and risk of 'shrinkage', then it should logically be so that the more we inflate, the more the expansion. It is probably not a linear correlation between inflation frequency and size gain (or loss), but rather an exponential correlation where the effect of adding more inflations to an already frequent protocol will have minimal effect.

Wear and tear: Since the implant is a mechanical device, which we know does not last forever and will need to be replaced eventually, it is fair to assume that more frequent use means shorter life time. As the engineers would call it, the MTBF (mean time between failure) should shorten with increased use.
Inflating and deflating twice daily will by a very high probability result in shorter time till revision surgery than inflating twice per week.
If we assume that life length is directly proportional to usage and not time, and further assume that a device used twice per week lasts for 15 years. That means it lasts for roughly 1560 inflations (2*52*15).
If pumping twice per day, the implant will last for 1560/2 days = 780 days = 2.14 years, or Two years and two months only. That is something worth thinking of. Probably the life time of the implant is determined by a mix of elapsed time and number of inflations/deflations and even number of penetrations - but I think it is safe to say that frequent use will shorten the life time.

Where does that leave us? What should we do?
First we must decide if we even think that the frequent pumping will increase size more than the pump-when-use protocol.
If we do, then it depends on what we prioritize.
If we think that one cm length is critical, but don't think it is a huge issue to have a few more revision surgeries, then we should probably go on a protocol of frequent pumping. If we think that one cm is pretty unimportant, but think that having the revisions every 15 years instead of every 8 years, then we should probably hold back a bit and maybe only inflate when using the implant.
Of course, if we don't even believe in the extra size gain from high-frequency pumping, then we should skip it and save the life time of the implant instead.

What do I do?
I do something which is more to the frequent protocol side of things. I inflate every day, but not always twice daily. I estimate that I inflate 10 times per week. Maybe even less, let's say 8-10 times per week.
Why?
Well, that is a good question. I have gained 0.5 cm length compared to pre-op and girth is same (or maybe 1-2 mm larger, but that falls within the tolerance for my measurement).
If I follow my own logic above, and answer this question: If I can choose between keeping current size and having a 15 years life time of my implant, meaning I would need probably 2-3 revisions during my life time, or gaining 1 cm length and 0.5 cm girth, but paying the price of having let's say 8 years life time and hence needing around 4-5 revisions, what would I choose?
Probably the former.
So my protocol doesn't really match my targets and my logic.

Maybe time to change something...

I only pump when I have sexual intercourse. I have not lost any length and have gained a little in the three years I have had my Titan.
My surgeon never even mentioned pumping to avoid loosing length. It stands to reason that extra pumping will wear the device out sooner.
This would be good for business for the doctor. Maybe that is why some recommend it.

oldgoat wrote:I only pump when I have sexual intercourse. I have not lost any length and have gained a little in the three years I have had my Titan.
My surgeon never even mentioned pumping to avoid loosing length. It stands to reason that extra pumping will wear the device out sooner.
This would be good for business for the doctor. Maybe that is why some recommend it.

Good post! And good points made.

If I follow my own logic above, and answer this question: If I can choose between keeping current size and having a 15 years life time of my implant, meaning I would need probably 2-3 revisions during my life time, or gaining 1 cm length and 0.5 cm girth, but paying the price of having let's say 8 years life time and hence needing around 4-5 revisions, what would I choose?
Probably the former.
So my protocol doesn't really match my targets and my logic.

Maybe time to change something...

But if in following that logic you cease to use your implant or reduce using it you are also defeating the logic that brought you to an implant initially. If you buy a sports car for the thrill but do not drive it due to the cost of insurance is the thrill still there? d

Sorry for being unclear.
I did not mean reduce actual usage for sex.
I meant skipping pumping for 'tissue expansion' twice per day.

You were quite clear Merrix. I was making a point there is no need for extremism on anyone's part. Don't waste your comfort zone for longevity or cost savings. The best machine in the world is nothing but a rock if not used. Part of the expense of a machine is depreciation and replacement cost. Goes along with it. Buy the best machine you can and they last longer. Both brands warrant failure of the device, but an actual copy of what they consider the life of the device would be nice to read. No rep could (or would) provide me that info when I asked last October. I state that as some of my products are warranted for a Lifetime but lifetime is considered to be 50 years in the micro fine print hidden on page you will never find it. Also keep in mind that every person I've spoken to that had a revision said it was a breeze compared to the first implant so don't let your first time experience make you squeamish about subsequent replacements.