Hey Odiez,
My doctor opted to not use the Buccal graft. However, there is much evidence that the graft is helpful regardless of size. For a long stricture, my understanding is that it would definitely be the preference for graft.
The bowl movement for me was a long time as well. I think it had something to do with the general anesthesia combined with the morphine and other drugs I had after. It very well may have been about a week or a little over before I had one. When it finally came, it was the most difficult one of my life. I ended up taking a few different diuretics, fibers, and other stuff as I became increasingly concerned about what was going on in there. The concern is that the stress of pushing hard to get it out could affect stuff up there. Also, with the foley and swelling, it’s already very unpleasant. I’d definitely suggest getting him drinking a good amount of water and eating a good amount of fibers to help push things through.
I’m doing well overall. Last checkup was my 6-month. I was surprised to read that my flow was up at ~40 ml/s. That is ridiculously better than my ~2 ml/s prior to any operation. Sensation at the incision spot is still slowly returning (not 100% yet). Sadly, I still do not have any force behind my ejaculation. That’s really the only negative thing I have about the whole ordeal. From what I understand, my situation is not common, so I probably wouldn’t worry too much about that. Even with the impaired ejaculation, i can still get stuff out, it just doesn’t shoot out. It basically oozes. With modern science, this would appear to be more than enough for the purposes of insemination.
How is the recovery going? I always watch for posts here and respond when I get the chance.