Guest post: My life-changing penile implant

By David

Nobody questions when a woman gets an implant after a mastectomy. Why should prostate cancer be any different when functionality is lost?

Since I got a penile implant, my attitude in life has completely changed. Three years with multiple therapists after my prostate surgery and the ensuing ED didn’t enable me to get over my deep sense of loss. Then I got an implant and it has been life changing for me. It’s more than a year since my implant surgery and I am so happy to feel there is something functional between my legs again. I’m not angry any more. I feel like I am a calmer, nicer person and a better husband. My wife is happy and feels the implant has changed our relationship for the better.

How it was before my implant

The three years since I lost my erections due to prostate cancer surgery were filled with ideas, tips and tricks that have helped others, but did nothing for me. The only thing that I kept doing, in hopes that the ED would disappear, was the daily (VED) pumping routine. I have kept blood flow and tissue flushed to stop any further loss of size or tissue. I have maintained everything I had and maybe some since the surgery.

However, my erections stubbornly refused to return. Without the pump, my flaccid penis was prone to “turtling” so much that it almost disappeared.

Penile implant surgery – as it happened

The surgery was physically rough. There was more pain than my original prostatectomy, but it only lasted a few days. I was back on my feet within a week, but it looked as if I’d gone a round in a ring and taken multiple kicks to the groin. I was swollen and black and blue for a few weeks. In total it took six weeks before I could actually pump up my new erections.

It felt odd at first to have those cylinders inside me. After surgery they leave it about half-inflated during the healing process. It was a bit awkward but also felt good to be regularly reminded “it’s there.”

The cylinders that were inserted go all the way back to where your prostate used to be – in other words they support your erection right back to its roots just as in a natural erection. Then as you probably know, they put a small pump inside the scrotum that you can squeeze to pump up an erection. The reservoir of saline used to fill up the cylinders is in my abdomen and I can’t feel its presence.

They say the whole system has a 12 to 20 year lifetime. That feels like a long new lease on life for me.

Sex with a penile implant

I love it! In the throes of passion, my wife said she never thought she would ever feel this again and it is the best thing I could have done. She wanted to thank the doctor for doing such a good job. This melted my heart. I feel that I am worthwhile again and seen as a sexual being in my wife’s eyes.

From a practical perspective:

• It is quick and easy to pump it up, I can do it in the bedroom with no fuss.
• Because the cylinders go back to the root of the penis, you don’t get the sort of “hinge” effect that comes from using a VED.
• Although the cylinders don’t go all the way to the end of my glans, I find my glans does also swell up under sexual stimulation.
• I can go as long as I/we want.
• The prosthetic surgery changed me overnight from a grower to a shower.
• I am having great orgasms.

Implant has changed my sex life, and changed my life

As we all age, there are changes to our bodies that sometimes are not noticed because they are so minor and slow growing. An implant is different. It has changed my ability to engage in sex and the orgasms have changed. I am no longer a 60 second man but could be more like a 60 minute man if I wish. Those changes are taking a little time to adjust to, but overall, I am ecstatic of my decision and how it has changed in my life!

Since my implant, it’s as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel as if I got something back that was dear to me and to my 40+ year marriage.

Read more about David’s prostate cancer journey.