Has anyone had Microsurgical Denervation?

Thats wonderful. Thanks for update God Bless

Hi Michael, the block is now wearing off, seems to have lasted 3 days. Its was great while it lasted, I actually had a whole day of no pain, and then just some dull aching. I actually felt a heavy aching in the left testicle and down my leg while the right side was feeling better, it was as though the left side was hurting because the right side wasn't. My scan showed that I have small cysts and varicoceles in both testicles, but my right one is the one that always hurts, seems my left one is also starting to hurt.

Hello, Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I have not check my email until now. Sorry the block stop working. So my question is this. Will they do surgery? If so, what will they do?

Great that it worked as it opens a whole new line of easy treatments for you. Please ask your doctor for a Botox injection into the spermatic cord. I had one 3 months ago and it is still working and has reduced my pain 90%. Good luck. Howard

Howard, Question, if the Botox work on the spermatic cord than why wont they do Denervation of the spermatic cord????? I received a block and it work so they did surgery.

Yes they want to but I am afraid of surgery so my doctor agrees to Botox injection into the spermatic cord until it doesn't work anymore. I first did Lydocaine and it worked great for 2 days so then he tried Botox and it has worked for 3 months with a few set backs. He wants to do the denervation on me now since I am a good patient for it but I am afraid of surgery.

My friend, Find out how many times your doctor has done the surgery. I didnt think twice about the surgery. 24 hours after the block and it work I had surgery 4 days later. So many times I just wanted to end it for 15 years of pain. I had so many surgery for other problems. 2 years ago I had 5 bypass surgery. That was open heart. I allways trust my doctor and pray to God he work through the doctor. Surgery has advance so much now.

Thank you. He has done many of these but I am afraid to be put to sleep. But you make a good point. I will reconsider.

I wish you all the best.

Hi Howard, Does your pain go down your leg as well, do you get pain in both testicles? I was self examining a few days ago, and I pressed hard on top of my testicle just where the head of the epididymis is, this caused unbelievable sharp shooting pain, I nearly fell to the floor.

Hi Michael, Did you have cord denervation done on both sides?

I am due to see a urologist at a different hospital in August to discuss microsurgical denervation.

I have my pain just in my left testicle from a large varicocele there. My right side is ok. When I press on the cyst on my testicle I also almost faint. The pain radiates from the testicle along my lower back on the left side to my left leg and then down my left leg. It takes my breath away. The head of the epididymis is very swollen most of the time. Pain killers and anti-inflammatories have no relief. But the Botox injection did work very well and since that injection 3 months ago I have very few flare-ups. When I do get a flare-up I take one 5mg Percoset pill and that fixes the pain. I am scheduled for a 2nd Botox injection in mid August. I guess I should get the denervation which will fix all these problems. Good luck.

Hi Howard, Since I pressed hard on the head of the epididymis a few days ago, I have had a reduction in pain. The moment I done it I had the sharpest pain that I have never felt before, then all of a sudden I felt relief, as if something gave way (popped maybe). Can cysts pop?

That is interesting. Has the pain come back since or is it better now?

Its still feels a lot better, I can even wear jeans that I couldn't wear before. Its not totally 100% gone, but its not as painful as it was. I recently did have two days of it really hurting, but the pain and ache is less, but now I'm getting a dull ache in my left testicle which also travels down my left leg and into my foot. I don't know if the nerve block with steroids is still working, or something happened when I pressed hard on the head of the epididymis, but something definitely happened which bought me some relief. I'm due to see another urologist next week, so we shall see what he has to say.

I was just given nortripyline and pain quickly reduced pain so I can be more productive. It is an antidepressent but at low dose it tunes down nerves. There is an article on it on PubMed.

Does nit resolve underlying problem but will help until I can get denervation surgery.

Thanks for everyone's input on this topic.

Dr did say that denervation will cause numbness. That has me worried..I want to feel normal, not pain or numbness.

The denervation procedure also cuts the cremastor muscles which are responsible for pulling up the balls during an erection. So they will still hang down. I guess it is no big deal but just wanted to mention it.

I tried an experiment where I took on Viagra pill from a sample pack i got many years ago. It of course gives an erection but I also found that it relieved my scrotal pain for a few days afterwards! It is important to ejaculate with the erection to reduce pressure. Maybe Viagra changed the blood flow pattern. I have 4 pills so I may try it again. meanwhile I use Percoset when the pain gets bad and that stops the pain for a few days without any side effects for me.

Hi gg78506, Yes I was given amitriptyline, and then nortripyline, I found they didn't work very well, plus I couldn't cope with the side effects. I have found Tramadol helps me better with less side effects. Regards numbness, that sounds bliss, imagine not feeling anything, not feeling pain. I'm due to see a new urologist tomorrow to talk about the cord denervation , we shall see what he says.

Hi Howard, Yes I agree, ejaculation helps reduce the pressure pain feeling. My issue I have with the cord denervation is the fact they cut the vas deferens. I understand this will mean you cant ejaculate from which ever testicle, which will mean the epididymis will be swelling with sperm. You will be relying on your own body function to reabsorb the sperm as your body continues to produce it. That frightens the hell out of me, not being able to empty the epididymis.

Hi We5t - No no - the denervation procedure does NOT cut the vas deferens. In fact it doesn't go near that place. All the procedure does is to cut some nerve bundles in the spermatic cord. But it will NOT impact ejaculation at all. I think the cremastor muscle might be affected but all that does is to pull the balls up into the body during ejaculation.

Anyway, your doctor will tell you all this. be sure to ask him about Percoset for pain relief. It has been a miracle for me. Also ask him if you could contact one of his patients who had the procedure to discuss it with him for your own peace of mind.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Hi Guys, Well I'm back from the hospital, this urologist seems very knowledgeable and wants to perform an MRI first before discussing anything else. I'm none the wiser until I get the MRI and then see him again to discuss the results. But he reckons the varicoceles and cysts that I have could be contributing to the problem and also reckons I could be getting a blockage, tubes not clearing correctly (which I believe this is the case). He's already ordered me an MRI, he also wants to look for nerve related problems surrounding my abdomen, pelvis and legs, hence the MRI. So an MRI is the next step to see what that reveals, and then go from there. I had to travel 80 miles just to be told that, and 12 years of waiting... crazy really. He really was a lovely guy though, who said he wants to get to the bottom of my problem, so that was very good to hear. 😃

He also ask me do I get pain at the back of the leg/thigh, which I do. The pain can be sharp shooting or intense aching, so I wonder why he ask me this?

Great to hear all this and please keep us posted. Did you ask about Percoset for pain management? MRIs are good to get as they show a lot of stuff. When is it scheduled?

I think the leg/thigh question has to do with blood circulation issues. Often men with varicoceles also have varicose veins in their legs which can be painful. I do also. But not to worry. Please keep us informed. Take care.

Hello, That great you are seeing another doctor. Yes I did on both sides. Your life will change when you are no longer in pain.

Keep me up to date.

Hello, I didnt get any side effects of numbness or pain. The only side effect I have and i think because of the pain for 15 years is my penis is not sensitive during sex. Its been like that for 15 years. No problems with erection but it take a while to finish. No complaints from my girl friend LOL. Best of luck. Keep us updated

Howard is correct it doesnt cut the bas deferens. Howard are you recommending he take Percoset for the pain before or after the surgery. There is no pain after the surgery.

Thank you for your posts. I recommend percoset only for the terrible pain we live with before the procedure. Could you tell us where you had your procedure done? Were both done by the same doctor? Good luck to you.

Thanks guys, I have to wait for a letter with the appointment date to come through, I just hope its not a long wait... The doc also mentioned about another nerve block, he says there are several different ones to try... He didn't want to say too much until he has the results from the MRI, so we didn't really talk about cord denervation, and I didn't want to seem pushy... As for medications, I have tried all of them, some didn't work and some I cant take because of the side effects...The one that works for me is Tramadol , it doesn't work 100% but it does take the edge of things... I am convinced my problem is varicoceles, blood flow etc, and the fact that I have a cyst on the head of the epididymis, but the doctor said they shouldn't be causing the leg and foot pain, but I disagree???

Very likely referred nerve pain which will go away following the denervation.

Howard, Have you ever heard of the Cox Technic , its meant to relieve testicular pain, and leg pain.?

Also, has anyone tried pelvic floor exercises?

We5t - I am seeing a pelvic pain specialist and doing daily exercises. It was doc's orders to do conservative attempts before surgery. Does not seem to be helping. Follow up with dr in Oct to discuss surgery..cant come fast enough!

The pain med I mentioned above only helped for a week. Feeling frustrated.

We have had a letter from the pain team yesterday saying that because the ilionguinal nerve block my son had did not have lasting or significant benefit they wont consider MDSC surgery .

Hello, So sorry for your sons pain. So why would they do MDSC surgery before doing a spermatic cord block. Ilionguinal has nothing to do with the testicles in my research. I had the block in the spermatic cord and it work, so they did MDSC and I been pain free ever since. I am not a doctor but I am the only one so far on this blog that had pain for 15 years than had MDSC after I had the spermatic cord block.

I only bring this up to make sure this is the problem and something else may be causing the pain. My doctor told me that it is 100% if the block works you will need a MDSC. He was correct.

Pray your son gets heal soon.

Thank you .I am asking them to do the spermatic cord block .

Hi Pauline, Sorry to hear of your sons problem, get them to perform a different nerve block, as there are several. I too had the ilionguinal nerve block and it only made a slight difference, my new urologist has said he may try a different block (I'm hoping it will be the spermatic cord block this time) as Michael has mentioned. Good luck.

A friend of a friend has just had Percutaneous embolization done on his varicoceles, and it worked, no more pain. Percutaneous embolization is less invasive and done same day... I myself believe this is what my problem is, varicoceles, I have them both sides, but urologist say they are small... They maybe showing small on the ultrasound scan, but they are obviously swelling up and becoming larger causing me immense pain...

I will try that .It takes so long to get an appointment may try private health care .Thank you

Hi Michael,

I just had a spermatic denervation on my right side done 9 days ago. My urologist felt that I would be a good candidate for the procedure as I too felt solid pain relief (for 5 hours or so) after receiving nerve blocks along the spermatic cord. My question for you is how long did it take to feel the reduction of pain in the testicle after the operation? Obviously I understand that there is always post-operative pain associated with someone making incisions in your body and poking around. But I am concerned because it has now been 9 days and I still feel the same pain in the right testicle that I did prior to the operation. Any light you could shed on this would be much appreciated.

Thank you,

Joseph

My understanding from peoples experience, the blocks aren't always 'that' successful.

From my own experience of taking an oral blocker, 'gabapentin', the pain is only numbed somewhat.

It doesn't mean the MSCD won't work 😉

My son is now on Gabapentin and Diclofenic also oramorphe but still in pain .He is only 15 so maybe the dose is too low he is 6 foot but still treated by pediatrics. I have asked foe a second opinion as a spermatic cord block isnt being considered in fact they don't seem aware of the procedures although

i have sent articles to them .I think they are annoyed with me for suggesting what they should do as the pain management consultant wont reply to my emails or phone calls .

Michael where did you get your surgery was in it the UK ?

Hi

This is EXACTLY what i get. Its really hard to pin point the exact location though.

Makes me feel queasy just thinking about that pain.

Hi Michael

So pleased the procedure worked for you. I had a nerve block twice now and the second just a few days ago.

yesterday the sharp pain is back and I feel it even without touching now since I experienced the sharp pain yesterday, Its like the nerve remembers and takes a while to calm down.

Thinking about it, I did not have this feeling for a few days after the nerve block but I had pain and tightness around the cord where they injected. I suspect that is normal.

That's gone now.

They have said they will contact me in 6 weeks for an update. Is the blocker supposed to last that long?!?!

I wanted to ask you, after the operation, are there any physical differences? Does the testicle hang lower if the cremaster has been cut?

Thank you