TOPIC: Considering Belladerm--please advise

flybynight wrote: Justave: I\'m in exactly the same boat... to the point I want to figure out exactly where he sutured this stupid graft at the base and have it severed (or removed). It shortened my length and I have the same curl upwards. If you ever read this again, tell me, does the now bare graft have a cord like protrusion at the top of the shaft at the base?

People, it\'s literally like tying a rope around the head of your penis and pulling it back like the reins on a horse towards the base, over the top. That\'s the lost length. And the damn graft (which I assume is this cord like structure post tissue dissolving for a year) is strong as hell. When you\'re erect, you can definitely see it is the cause of the bend. I\'ve been doing weights and everything to try and stretch it. It\'s as if the belladerm tissue was attached to some other type of material which travels from on top of the base of the penis... to the head... and once the belladerm is gone, just this weird strip remains.

It\'s what you say shrunk... and you may be right, in addition to all the other tissue around it dissolving.

guys, I\'m all for freedom of enhancement... like justave, I was fine and happy for a few months. When they say most guys later regret these procedures, they are correct.

Why? Because the procedures are inept and these docs lie like whores. They just see 10k in the room, that\'s it. The DAY someone actually comes up with a procedure which has a proven track record and doesn\'t scar the patient, guess what? That satisfaction rate will climb quick.

Kingpin, if you had belladerm with Dr. Rosenthal... and moved on to PMMA, is the implication here that belladerm didn\'t work for you as well? \"very happy with him as a doctor\"... but you felt it necessary to have a second procedure after the original. We are to assume you weren\'t happy with the Belladerm procedure, but loved the personality of the doc. Alright then.

Nothing like traveling to TJ to have a PMMA injected in your dick because it\'s illegal stateside.

www.drelist.com/pmma-injection-penile for some PMMA info.

You are citing Dr. Elist, arguably the least popular American doctor who performs phalloplasty. His procedure has yielded a 100% dissatisfaction rate among reporting members (that\'s pretty bad), many with major complications. What could he possibly know about the efficacy of other procedures? Please cite something more credible in the future, thanks.

I\'ve read complaints regarding Dr R and Bella derm absorption but are there any horror stories with PMMA we should be aware of? I\'m torn between which will have the better overall result.

Smitty wrote: I\'ve read complaints regarding Dr R and Bella derm absorption but are there any horror stories with PMMA we should be aware of? I\'m torn between which will have the better overall result.

If you peruse enough of the web, yes, there are \"horror stories\" that are related to PMMA. The problem often resides in the absence of crucial information and many times the horrors are not so readily explainable (e.g. were the products in-fact medical-grade PMMA, was the practitioner qualified, did the practitioner inject in the wrong place, did the practitioner use proper instrumentation, etc etc etc?). However, the absence of a few clues isn\'t a reason to dismiss real concern that men & women have reported serious complications with PMMA.

On this forum, I personally have not read or seen anything that would be qualified as a horror story (regarding PMMA), but it\'s all relative. Considering the history of Phalloplasty, for me a penis enlargement horror story is significant and/or permanent retraction (loss of an Inch or more in Erect length), impotence, loss of sensation or regional numbness, and severe infections as a direct result of the procedure.

That all said, both Belladerm & PMMA are elective cosmetic procedures and are both not without risks. Just because we haven\'t seen a PMMA horror story (relatively speaking) on these forums, doesn\'t mean we wont one day (knocking on wood we don\'t.).

As for which will have the better overall result? Well that\'s mostly subjective, and I\'ve seen some very good Belladerm (or it may have been Alloderm, but ultimately the same thing) results. The only problem is that there aren\'t nearly as many Belladerm reports (very few actually) so you\'ll have to do your digging & research and come up with the best decision for you.

Good luck!

Hi Guys, I had Belladerm widening and lengthening five years ago in 2010. Was happy with the Belladerm, still showing increases in Girth however I lost significant Erect length post-op and it has taken me nearly five years of aggressive use of the grip system to regain that lost length. I do not have pre- and post-op data to share however pre-op I used regular condoms, post-op, even five years later, I use Magnum XL\'s. These are experimental surgical techniques, there is paucity of refereed scientific literature on alloderm/Belladerm widening in the penis and ligament dissection in the penis. Proceed with caution.

Can anyone confirm that Dr Rosenthal always stacks sheets on top of each other?

Hi Hoddle, given that my procedure was five years ago I\'m reluctant to comment on the details of the methods that were used, best to direct that question to the surgeon to ensure accuracy. It\'s my understanding that thicker sheets of Belladerm are now available compared to what was available in 2010.

But are you saying Rosenthal was your surgeon?

Stacking Belladerm or Alloderm is really bad and I don\'t think Dr.\'s do it - even if they say they do. It is the most expensive part of the procedure, and more importantly the graft needs to be in contact with the skin on both sides to grow a blood supply. When they are stacked, the middle layer does not come in contact with a blood supply and ends up being a petrie dish for bacteria and leads to infection. Any doctor that says he stacks is either ignorant, reckless or lying to you to get your business. If you talk to one that says he stacks I\'d ask him what he does to prevent infection and for the middle of the stacked graft that has no blood supply. (I have gotten all this info from Dr. Reed).

hunkydory wrote: Stacking Belladerm or Alloderm is really bad and I don\'t think Dr.\'s do it - even if they say they do. It is the most expensive part of the procedure, and more importantly the graft needs to be in contact with the skin on both sides to grow a blood supply. When they are stacked, the middle layer does not come in contact with a blood supply and ends up being a petrie dish for bacteria and leads to infection. Any doctor that says he stacks is either ignorant, reckless or lying to you to get your business. If you talk to one that says he stacks I\'d ask him what he does to prevent infection and for the middle of the stacked graft that has no blood supply. (I have gotten all this info from Dr. Reed).

I\'m almost certain Rosenthal does stack them. I think it\'s why he doesn\'t want patients to shower for a month and only makes one incision.

The reason I asked is because I know of 4 members who have had either shortening and/or curvature following Belladerm surgery. They are all Rosenthal patients. So I\'m wondering if it\'s due to blood supply issue\'s from stacking the sheets. As you know I\'m considering a graft with Dr Solomon and I\'m worried about the graft contracting over time, due to lack of blood supply. But I know he doesn\'t stack sheets and I\'m hoping that Articsky is a Rosenthal patient, as I\'m really hoping these issues are due to stacking sheets.

Sorry wish I knew - I think these surgeries are fraught with issues. My best advice is talk to Reed for a second opinion about the best way to do the surgery - even if you go with Solomon, just for more expert info. He has a blog on his site as well, and just search for Belladerm and you will find more info by patients.

Hi all
I haven\'t been on here for a while. So to update you. I\'ve been very busy with school/work the last year, I have put this issue out of my mind for now. IT was rough when the Belladerm began to absorb. It doesn\'t happen evenly and the shrinking causes what I can only call deformity. So yes I used the \"AndroExtender\" out of Spain (Recommended by Dr R) to try and correct the bends, kinks and shrinkage. Interestingly, had I known about this device before I would likely never had the surgery. I used the extender for about 6 months. It did improve things quiet a bit. I regained only about 3/8\" length, the kink on the main shaft was improved about 80%, the gland which was bent back so far that it was maybe 80 degrees out of alignment, very painful. The bend of the gland is probably now 30 degrees up. Length is now about 5-3/8\" to 5-1/2\" (original 6\") Girth is now 4.5\". For a while, erections were painful, now its only a little painful during ejaculation...yes. I stopped using the extender, plan to begin again in another month or so to see if I can get the bend in the gland completely out. It\'s nearly 5 years, I\'m more optimistic about improvement...but it takes so much time to get there,

Also to the discussion below, I was Dr Rosenthals patient, and the Belladerm was stacked, two layers. One month after surgery, 5.25\" Girth, 3 months 5.0\" 6 months 4.75\"....4 years 4.5\" original Girth was between 4.0-4.25\". The initial results could have been a result of swelling. When Girth went down to 4.75 I was happy because the implant....which has noticeable square edges, was less noticeable.

Something to add, I'm not a doctor (yet) but this may be relevant. I quit smoking a few months before surgery, and started about 6 months after. During the period where the greatest sudden absorption occurred, I was travelling on business, very busy, stressed and smoking a lot. I believe that it may be that a person who has a Belladerm implant'can never smoke again. It's possible that the small newly formed blood vessels are not large enough to keep the newly formed tissue alive, if they contract due to smoking. Just a thought'and I was only advised to quit for a few weeks before and after, that's what I did. Can't say, but it would be interesting to know if there is a correlation.

This post is my experience with Belladerm with Dr R.. After the swelling went down ( just like PMMA) my fg went from 5.7 to now just under 5. That is my short story. The time is approx 3 years. The graft can be felt on the sides and near the glans.It has remained just fine. No lumps,twists etc.

@Hoddle, yes, Dr. Rosenthal was my surgeon in 2010. Aside the retraction, the aesthetics were and are exceptional, no other problems.

@Justave, I\'m glad things are improving for you.