Mailbag: Penile Implants

Question

I like to know the cost of an implant and what are the consequences and what needs to be done to have a penile implant,does a person looses sensitivity after the implant?

Sergio

Answer

The device itself is about $9000. A lot of insurances including Medicare cover them. Often though the cash rate for the whole thing can be up to $25000. I have a set up that can reduce this for a cash rate by about 35-40%.

I like to see and evaluate the patient pre-op and make sure there are no further non surgical therapies that can be tried. As far as side effects, one can expect bruising and can expect to lose about 1/2 inch of length, this can be regained over time w the stretching of the device over time. As far as sensation, it is different than a normal erection, it is slightly decreased as compared to a normal erection as the glans does not fill completely w blood as in a normal erection. However, the patient who is getting an IPP has failed other therapies and often does not remember what a normal erection is like anyway.