Penile Implant Surgery

Before surgery

• A pre-operative nurse from Cape Cod Hospital calls you the day before, between 1:00 and 5:00 pm, with your arrival time. Report to the O'Keefe Surgical Pavilion, to the right of the main entrance.
• Nothing to eat or drink after midnight the evening before.
• If pre-op testing is needed, it can be done at any Quest or Cape Cod Healthcare lab 7–10 days before surgery — no fasting required.
• Stop all blood-thinning medications 7 days before the procedure, with your prescribing physician's approval. You may resume them 3 days after.
• No special soaps or surgical preps are required — and do not shave before arriving. Shaving is done in the operating room right before the procedure.
• Arrange your driver — the hospital will not discharge you without one.

After surgery: medications

You'll be given antibiotics, a stool softener, and a pain medication. Use pain medication minimally — it causes constipation and other side effects.

After surgery: care

• Apply an ice pack as often as you like for discomfort.
• You'll leave the hospital with a compression "mummy wrap" and a urethral catheter.
• At 7:00 am the day after surgery, remove the catheter and the wrap. You'll be given a syringe to deflate the saline balloon holding the catheter (or cut off the balloon port and let it drain) — then the catheter slides right out. The nurses demonstrate all of this before you leave the hospital.
• Important: stay flat, on bedrest with minimal walking, for 2–3 days. Less swelling means it will be far easier to find and work your pump when you start using the device.
• Cycling (using) the implant typically begins 2–4 weeks after surgery. You'll receive a device keychain that guides you in finding and manipulating your implant.