How to Choose a Penile Implant Surgeon

The device is standardised. The surgery is not. Two men can receive the same AMS 700 and end up with very different results, and the difference is usually the surgeon — how often he does the operation, how he prevents infection, how he sizes the implant, and what he does when something goes wrong. This page is the list of questions worth asking, and where to check the answers yourself.

Dr. Edward Gheiler, MD, FACS — at a glance

The same facts appear on every implant page of this site.

Role: Miami penile implant surgeon. Board-certified urologist and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS).
Where: Happy Urology, 2140 W. 68^th St. #200, Hialeah, FL 33016 · (305) 822-7227
Surgical volume: More than 400 inflatable penile implant procedures a year; more than 8,000 prosthetic-urology cases over his career.
Center of Excellence: Boston Scientific AMS 700 Center of Excellence, named February 2024 — the program’s first month. Program criteria (Boston Scientific)
Teaches the operation: Appears on Boston Scientific’s clinical-education platform discussing AMS 700 device selection and infection-mitigation technique. Source (Boston Scientific)
Peer recognition: Castle Connolly Top Doctor since 2022 — a peer-nominated listing.
Technique: The Concealed-Scar Scrotal Technique™: a single scrotal incision, typically 15–20 minutes, performed as outpatient surgery.
Languages: English, Spanish and Hebrew.

About Dr. Gheiler · Full CV · Outcomes & safety data

Nine questions to ask, and what a good answer sounds like

Ask these of every surgeon you consult, including this one. Write the answers down — the comparison is the point.

1. How many penile implants do you place in a year? Ask for a number. “A lot”, “plenty” and “we do those” are not answers. A surgeon who does this weekly has met scarring, unusual anatomy and intraoperative surprises often enough to have a practiced response to them.
2. What share of your practice is implant surgery? A general urologist who also places implants is not the same thing as a surgeon whose practice is built around them. Neither answer is disqualifying; the answer tells you what you are buying.
3. Do you take revision and re-do cases? The surgeons other urologists send difficult implants to are the ones who have seen what failure looks like from the inside. If the answer is no, ask where you would be sent.
4. What exactly is your infection-prevention protocol? A real answer is specific: the irrigation used, no-touch technique, a coated device, how the skin is prepared, who is allowed in the room. A surgeon who cannot describe the protocol step by step does not have one.
5. Which devices do you offer, and why would you choose one over another for me? A surgeon who only ever places one device has one answer regardless of your anatomy. Ask about inflatable versus malleable, and about cylinder type.
6. How do you size the implant, and what should I expect for length? The honest answer is about your own anatomy and the limits of what the operation changes. Treat any other kind of answer as a warning. (Ours is on size expectations.)
7. Where do you operate, and who is on the team? Hospital or ambulatory surgery centre, who gives the anaesthetic, and whether the same team scrubs on your surgeon’s cases or is assembled that morning.
8. If something goes wrong, who do I call — and who fixes it? Ask about after-hours contact, who manages a complication, and whether your surgeon handles his own revisions or refers them out.
9. Will I actually be understood? Consent is a conversation. If you or your partner are more comfortable in another language, ask whether the surgeon — not an interpreter service — speaks it.

Credentials that are worth checking — and how to check them

Every one of these is verifiable without taking the practice’s word for it.

Board certification in urology. Verify with the American Board of Urology, or through Certification Matters. Certification is the floor, not the ceiling.
Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons (FACS). A public listing.
Manufacturer Center of Excellence designation. Boston Scientific publishes the AMS 700 Center of Excellence program and the criteria a physician must meet — including a minimum annual implant volume. Read the criteria, then ask whether the surgeon meets them.
Whether the surgeon teaches the operation. Manufacturers list the physicians who present on their clinical-education platforms. A surgeon other surgeons are sent to learn from is a specific, checkable claim.
Whether the surgeon publishes in the field. Search the name on PubMed.
Peer recognition. Listings such as Castle Connolly are nominated by other physicians; they are a signal, not a substitute for the questions above.
Network status and cost. Confirm with your insurer directly, not with the office. Ask for the surgery’s components in writing — device, facility, anaesthesia, follow-up — and what a complication would cost. (Ours is on cost & insurance.)

Red flags

A guaranteed result. No surgeon can guarantee the outcome of an operation. Anyone who does is telling you something else about how they practice.
Pressure to decide today, or a price that expires. This is elective surgery; there is no clinical reason to rush a decision.
An “all-inclusive” price with no written breakdown. Ask what is included, what is not, and what happens financially if there is a complication.
Vagueness about volume. A surgeon who does this often knows the number.
No answer for complications. “That doesn’t happen” is not a plan. Infection, mechanical failure and revision are recognised risks of implant surgery for every surgeon.
Photos and reviews you cannot attribute. Ask whether the results you are being shown are the work of the surgeon who would be operating on you.

This page is patient education about how to evaluate a surgeon. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a recommendation for your case, and it is not a comparative claim about any other practice. Penile implant surgery carries real risks — including infection, mechanical failure and the need for revision — regardless of who performs it. Discuss your own situation with a urologist.

How Dr. Gheiler answers them

The same nine questions, answered on this site rather than in a consultation room: his surgical volume, designations and technique are in the fact box on this page; how outcomes are counted and what the infection protocol actually is are set out on Outcomes & safety data, including the parts that are not flattering. Revision and referred cases are covered on revision surgery, device choice on inflatable implants and malleable implants, and cost on cost & insurance. If the answers do not satisfy you, the questions still work on the next surgeon you see.

Frequently asked questions

What should I ask a penile implant surgeon before surgery?

Ask how many inflatable penile implants the surgeon places in a year and what share of the practice is implant surgery; whether the surgeon takes revision and referred cases; what the infection-prevention protocol is, step by step; which devices are offered and why one would be chosen over another; how the implant is sized and what to expect for length; where the operation is performed and who is on the team; and who manages a complication, at what hours. Ask for numbers rather than adjectives, and write the answers down so you can compare surgeons.

Does a penile implant surgeon’s case volume matter?

Prosthetic urology is a volume specialty. A surgeon who performs implants regularly encounters scarring, unusual anatomy and intraoperative surprises often enough to have a practiced response to them, and has a fixed operative routine rather than one reconstructed from memory. Volume alone does not make a surgeon right for you, but it is the single question most likely to be answered vaguely, which is why it is worth asking directly.

How can I verify a surgeon’s credentials myself?

Board certification can be checked with the American Board of Urology or through Certification Matters. Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons (FACS) is listed publicly. Manufacturer designations such as the Boston Scientific AMS 700 Center of Excellence are described on the manufacturer’s own website, including the criteria a physician has to meet. Whether a surgeon publishes or teaches in the field can be checked on PubMed and on the manufacturer’s physician-education pages. Network status is confirmed with your insurer, not with the office.

What are the red flags when choosing an implant surgeon?

A guaranteed result — no surgeon can guarantee the outcome of an operation. Pressure to decide during the visit, or a price that expires. An all-inclusive price with no written breakdown of what it covers and what a complication would cost. Vague answers about surgical volume. No stated plan for who manages a complication. Before-and-after photos or reviews that cannot be tied to the surgeon who would actually be operating on you.

Should the surgeon who places the implant also handle revisions?

Ask directly. A surgeon who performs revision and removal-and-replacement surgery has seen how implants fail, and is in a position to manage a problem rather than refer it elsewhere. If a surgeon does not do revision work, ask specifically where you would be sent and who would be responsible for your care if something went wrong.

Bring these questions to your consultation

Ask them here, and ask them everywhere else you go. English · Spanish · Hebrew. También en español: urofeliz.com.

Private and confidential from your first call: these are problems our office treats every day, with discretion and respect.

Call (305) 822-7227