How long do implants really last?

[Vinny21]

I know we’ve all seen the statistics of “90% last 10 years” but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. I do realize people who have had problems are more likely to post here, but I’m curious what you all think the real avg life of an implant is (as a young guy considering it)

[ocitgo]

Implants don't last as long as advertized.

[Smetro]

I have no evidence to support my opinion but I do wonder about early failures occurring as a result of low volume surgeon’s lack of experience.
It would seem the top guys are the ones repairing other’s fuck ups......
Thoughts anyone?

[dg_moore]

Mine lasted 12 years with zero use. YMMV

[Gt1956]

During my recent surgeons appointment. I asked about his surgery volume. Very open & nice reply. He claimed to of done around 150 last year but won't hit that this year because of the Corona virus problems. His access to the hospital surgery facilities is restricted by the hospitals review panel as to what is considered life threatening. He claims that he is likely the leading implant surgeon in the Intermountain West region. Several on the West coast do as many, maybe a few more. I believe him because I've searched & there just doesn't seem to be many implant surgeons around & I'm even willing to travel quite a ways to get to one.
Anyways, to my point. He claims that the Urologist's are a small group. Most everybody knows those around. He was familiar with Karpman cause I mentioned that I had talked to him. Spoke good of him & said Karpman had a great sense of humor. Himself, he trained under Dr. Lue. Said that the vast majority of implants are installed by Urologist's that only preform a few implants a year. Many only do one.
So I suspect that implant life gets hit with a couple of problems.
1: Low volume surgeons might not be great at it. Not talking bad about them but we all have heard that practice makes perfect.
2: It is a mechanical device. Failures do happen. Who knows why some implants fail.
3: I suspect that suppliers of parts & materials can change. This leads to a real chance of less than ideal materials & workmanship.
4: A failure isn't life threatening. It's not like a heart pace maker that fails could lead to loss of life. As long as the failure rate stays low enough that the implant companies can absorb the cost of revisions, they're happy.
5: Long term, according to whoever gathers this data. The overall success rate is fairly high.
I don't see much in the way of implant failure improvement on the horizon. So I guess the old saying of "it's the only game in town" applies. We're stuck with it.
Thanks guys for reading my ramble.

[dg_moore]

When mine failed I basically shrugged my shoulders and said "Oh, well." As gt states above, a failure isn't life threatening. Since mine was of no use to me, I thought several times over the years of just having it removed, but since it wasn't causing me any kind of problem I decided that the expense and recovery from surgery wouldn't be worth it.

[Old Guy]

I thought there was someone on here recently that stated their implant was 17 years old and still working.

[Gt1956]

I thought there was someone on here recently that stated their implant was 17 years old and still working.

I forgot to mention this. For lots of us. If it was to last 17 years we might not remember what to do with it. The life span gets more important the younger you are when ED or cancer shows up. I wish that I could offer a better picture for them. I guess that goes back to the only game in town. You might not like the lifespan. But in my opinion sitting around complaining about it isn't getting you a useable erection. Make the decision, get the implant. I haven't read of many members that said that they regretted getting an implant.
My opinion, YMMV.

[Smetro]

We will see, I guess.
All I know is that I would crawl over broken glass and barbed wire to get a revision IF mine fails before I die