AdVance Male Sling System

Well it was wishful thinking. After all night I feel like I am ready to explode and still have only managed to go a few drops at a time. Guess I'm off to the ER again for another cath... yay! Updates to follow, I sure hope things start working again on their own soon, my flight back home leaves on Monday.

I am scheduled to have a sling put in the last week of January 2010 at U of Mich. by Dr. Latini. I had RP July 2009 and have been incontinent ever since with very little to no control during the day. Dry at night but up ever 2 hours or so to urinate.

Dr. recommends either Invance Male Sling which is supposed to be for "moderate" incontinence. Advance Sling is for "mild" incontinence. She has also recommened Virtue Sling by Coloplast. The Invance is attached with four titanium screws. The Virtue bonds to the tissue.

I have read the posts here and must say I am now a bit more nervous about this proceedure. The Dr. has done about 70 Advance and Invance slings and 6 virtue. I called six of her patients (she gave me the list) and all were very satisfied with the results.

Has anyone here had experience with the Virtue sling?

Bobinar, KW and any others still active,

What is the latest on your condition?

The more I read the more confused I get about doing a sling.....Advance (not strong enough fix for me per my Dr.).....InVance (some prople seem to have pain issues with this one).....Coloplast Virtue (too new and not proven enough).

I may be about ready to go straight to the AMS 800 pump. My Dr. is basically recommending the Virtue and says I can always go to the pump later if that does not fix the problem. Don't know of I want to go through two procedures.

 

I was going through a good bit of pads per day. Never counted but I would guess six plus... as everyone has read I had problems after my AMS surgery last Thursday and ended up back in the ER twice to have a catheter placed. On Sat they suggested I leave it in until I got home. I spoke with my doctor on Monday and he told me to leave it in one more day since I'd been constipated also and he said that can cause pressure that makes it difficult to urinate. Come Tuesday I didn't have the nerve to remove the catheter just yet in fear of having to go back to the ER again. (It's not the procedure that bothers me as much as the several hour waits) On Wednesday morning I cut the drain tube on my catheter and removed it myself. I managed to urinate, then 2 hours later I went again but had a little difficulty in doing so... then on the thrid try it was even harder to go and I felt like I had to "push" to get urine to come out and felt as if my bladder hadn't emptied. I was on the verge of going back to the ER for another catheter and decided to try to wait it out the night. I didn't sleep a wink because I felt as if I had to go all night but wasn't having much luck and just getting a few drops. On Thursday morning I tried my best to just relax and let things happen on their own. I turned the bathroom sink on full force so the sound of the water running would help stimulate urination... it seemed to have helped since I was able to get a small stream going and it's been pretty much the same since Thursday, some stream, some drips, some stream, some drips and then finish with the feeling that my bladder isn't empty. I am hoping that it just needs time and things will work out in the wash. On the up side I am DRY!!! I put on a pair of boxers yesterday for the first time in 7 months and no pad. It felt GREAT. I am still pretty sore and they must have tied my testicles to the ceiling during the procedure because they are black and blue from brusing and VERY sore. I've been taking extra care to shower several times a day since I am diabetic and prone to infections. I was told not to scrub the incision area for two weeks but just to let the soapy water run over that area. I'm not sure if anyone else that has had this procedure has this sensation but the patch they put over the incision area feels as if it is "pulling" the surrounding skin. I guess that will go away with time. Sorry I haven't updated sooner but I didn't want to count my chickens just yet and jinx myself but it appears as if things are going to be fine. I am still constipated though and nothing seems to be helping there. I've tried laxatives, stool softeners, even suppossitories and no luck. This concerns me because back in May when my prostate became infected that was one of the problems I had then. I kept going to the ER and telling them I hadn't had a bowl movement in weeks and they kept sending me home saying I was consitpated. I am sorry but at 50 years old I KNOW the difference between constipation and a COMPLETE lack of bowel movement and I kept trying to tell them that. After 5 weeks of being sent home and told I was fine (when I knew better) a doctor finally did a CT scan of my lower pelvic area and saw that my prostate was enlarged. A few days later the urologist examined me and told me that I needed to go to the hospital for emergency surgery. THAT DAY, RIGHT AWAY. He was there two hours later and did a TURP, basically he cut through my uretha and into my prostate to drain the abcess, by this time the infection had spread in to my blood stream and I ended up in the hospital for a week on IV antibiotics. I'll keep you guys updated on my current condition if anything changes for the better or worse. Hang in there guys... I know how frustrating this can be.

Bobinar,

Thanks for the detailed info. Yes, I am aware that I can do a sling first and then AUS if that does not work. But, I am wondering how that works with the various sling options:

AdVance - appears to be pretty clear cut to reverse.

InVance- Since this is anchored to the bone with 4 screws does this complicate removal to go to the AUS.

Virtue- Since this sling anchors to the tissue and actually involves the tissue "scaring" around and healing into place one would think it would be more difficult to remove if one were to need it removed to go t the AUS. This is what bbbob was facing as he was going in for surgery to have his Virtue removed.....needed to be cut out as much as possible.

While dealing with constipation have you consider using Metamucil on a regular basis. For years I have had my morning cocktail which is orange juice with about a tablespoon or two of Metamucil. After my RP surgery I was dealing with constipation when taking the various medications (pain killers really slow down your bowels) they asked me to take. Even Dulcolax plus the Metamucil did not fix the constipation issues but both helped.

Hi Flick,

Welcome to the forum. It's been quite a while since I took Imiprimine (sp?)and Detrol. Basically neither one of them helped my incontinence and I tended to get headaches from them. I am pretty sure that happened with Imiprimine and I don't think so much with Detrol. I was on it longer and it just did not help. I do remember a little dry mouth with both but not bad. I don't recall any balance problems but also did not do anything like skiing at the time.

I am still scheduled for a sling the last week of January and am still undecided. My Dr. has done about 70 InVance with good results and is also recommending the Virtue. She has only done 6 Virtue so no real clear results. I have the names of six Doctors she gave me that have done more of the Virtue and intend to call them this week.

Sorry I can't be of more help with the medications but perhaps someone else can.

 

I am posting a new message here in case anyone new visiting the site will see this thread. I have now made the decision to have a male sling implanted and will travel to NYU and have the proceedure done by Dr. Nitti on February 3rd. My local U of Michigan doctor is supporting me with this decision since she does not have much experience with either of these slings. She has done mostly InVance slings.

 I am still debating on whether to have the AMS AdVance or the newer Colaplast Virtue done.

I am hoping there may be someone who has new information that might be helpful in making this decision.

Does anyone have recent experience with either AdVance or Virtue that can share their experience?

Thanks for your information. If I had not visited this forum I would have most likely had my doctor do the InVance since that is what she has done the most of. I will now do either AdVance or Virture. I am traveling to NYC to have this done by Dr. Nitti at NYU. He is one of the co inventors of both AdVance and Virtue and I learned about him on this forum. I will post more information after my proceedure next week.

Threads never die! Someone searched on something, made a response, ét voilá, the thread is at the top of the list again!

(I need to update my profile; my RRP went very, very well, but my ED is near total. Thank goodness for bi-mix!)

I guarantee you all that this thread will be kept alive for the next few weeks. Since I am going to decide between AdVance and Virtue sling and have the surgery next week it may be helpful to others to follow what happens. You will see other comments above and my history below. We are all a little different in our journey and the more we can learn from each other the better. It's amazing to me how much difference there is between doctors and the experiences they have. I saw one post from a doctor on cancer survivors network that said something like "MDs all fall on a bell shaped curve" whichever end of the curve you are on you still end up with the MD at the end of your name. He was referencing expertise, experience, training etc. This is why I am going to spend the $$ to travel to NYC and have my sling surgery done by an MD who is one of several that has the most experience with the two slings I am considering. Most of which I learned about on this forum or cancer surverviors network forum.

Stay tuned and if you are really interested if you post a reply click on the option to get the email notice anytime something is posted to this thread.

I may start a new thread if I end up chosing the Coloplast Virtue sling, if not I will add to this one.

Cheers!

Thanks, Mr. Moderator! I will start a new thread. Not sure what the best title will be. Perhaps just male sling surgery? Or would it be best to list it as AdVance sling surgery or Virtue depending on which one I choose?

I'm new on this site and like bobinar I have the same question for slingman. How long can you wear the dribblestop before it becomes uncomfortable? Mr slingman have you ever worn the Cunningham clamp and could you compare the two? I will be appreciative of your comments.

I've been a 6-8 pad man (67yr old) since my prostatectomy in October 2004. I'm in the thinking about it stage for an AdVance sling as I'm getting pretty much discouraged with my incontinence.