This information will help you prepare during the weeks leading up to your penile implant surgery. You may have already discussed these tasks with us during an office visit.
Please review these recommended tasks and contact us if you have any difficulties taking care of them.
If you’ve seen a medical specialist in the past, such as a cardiologist or a pulmonologist, you may need to get a clearance letter from that physician before your surgery. If you need help with this, please contact us and we can assist you with that process.
Most commercial insurance companies operating in Iowa cover penile implant for restoration of sexual function. If you don’t know if your insurance company covers the procedure, contact the Department of Urology before your surgery to ask for help in making sure that your procedure is covered by your insurance plan.
You can expect to stay in the hospital for one night after your penile implant surgery. You can drive yourself to the hospital before the surgery, but you won’t be able to drive yourself home the next day. Please make arrangements in advance to be sure someone will be able to drive for you after you leave the hospital.
Before your penile implant surgery, we will let you know which medications you should stop taking until after your procedure.
Some of the medications you may need to stop taking before surgery are medications that can increase bleeding during an operation, such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Aleve), or anticoagulants (Coumadin, Pradaxa, Plavix).
If you take Coumadin or Plavix or another medication for an underlying heart or lung issue, contact us so that we can work with your prescribing provider to make sure that it’s safe for you to stop taking your medication temporarily.
If you take a baby aspirin for overall heart health, you should stop taking it 10 days before the day of your surgery.
If you take aspirin because you have a history of heart attack, stroke, or significant underlying heart disease, you can continue taking that before and after your surgery.
Being as healthy and fit as possible can help you recover from any kind of surgery with less difficulty. Good physical fitness and a healthy diet support your immune system as you heal in the weeks after the procedure.
If you don’t already have a regular fitness routine, consider beginning a routine that includes walking or some other light aerobic exercise. This will prepare your body to heal for surgery, and it will prepare you to live a healthier lifestyle long after your procedure.
If you do have a regular fitness routine, continue exercising up until the day before surgery.
Good nutrition will also prepare your body for the healing process. Eat good food, such as green leafy vegetables, and limit the sodium in your diet. You may also need to increase your water intake.
Increasing water intake, along with increasing your fiber intake, will also help you avoid constipation before surgery. Constipation before surgery often gets worse after surgery. Increased intake of water and fiber will help you get rid of some stool before surgery.
Contact us
If you have questions in the weeks before your surgery, you can contact us using the messaging feature in your MyChart account. If you haven’t activated your MyChart account yet, it’s easy to do. MyChart has lots of great tools to help you manage your health care, including the ability to send us a message any time of the day or night.
You can also contact us by phone at 1-319-353-8939.