The procedure to implant the penile prosthesis is done in a surgery center or hospital, and may be done under general anesthesia or spinal anesthesia, which blocks pain and sensation in the lower part of your body.
After inserting a catheter into your bladder to collect urine, the surgeon makes an incision either in the penis itself or in the lower abdomen and fully extends the corpora cavernosa, which are the spongy tissues inside the penis that fill with blood during an erection.
The implant, customized to the patient’s exact body measurements, is then implanted in the penis, with the pump and fluid reservoir implanted afterward. The entire procedure usually takes 45 minutes to an hour.
Recovery takes four to six weeks, and this is about how long it will take before patients are ready for sexual activity. Many doctors recommend that during recovery, patients fully inflate and deflate the implants twice a day for practice and to help stretch the tissues surrounding the cylinders.
