Have Hydrocele -- Weighing My Options

Twice as big is nothing - I don't think you should have the surgery. Just leave it be..

If it starts getting for example 5 times bigger then you can think about it.

Try not to think about it...

If doctor told you that you don't need surgery then you don't need it. I think your doctor is a good doctor. 

I continued to think about this last night after having spent a fair amount of time yesterday reading discussions on hydroceles in these forums. One thing I began thinking about is the fact that the body is a system. The second doctor I saw about the hydrocele alluded to this, and pointed out that my hydrocele is in fact continuously draining, it's just that it is now draining more slowly than it used to. He explained that the surgery (I'm not referring to 'aspiration', which I think some people confuse with the full surgery; 'aspiration' is simply sticking in a needle and extracting the excess fluid, which then usually refills) basically makes it impossible for the hydrocele to re-develop. The surgery sounds pretty drastic, basically it involves a pretty drastic reconfiguring of the testicle pouch so that there is no longer any place where the fluid can collect. So what I am inferring from this (and my impression is that scientists don't even yet have a full understanding of how this works) is that the fluid is basically forced to be reabsorbed back into the body. So assuming that that is how the surgery works, then this would mean that you could also force the fluid to be reabsorbed more rapidly by finding some way to place a continual, gentle, ongoing 'squeeze' on the hydrocele. Last night I tried wearing the 'Bull Bag' that I referred to yesterday, and had more success wearing it at home (it's harder to wear at work, under clothes, sitting at a desk, etc.). At times it was a challenge to squeeze the larger testicle into the Bull Bag, but after wearing it for a while I swear it did seem that the hydrocele did become a little bit smaller. Basically what I need to do is to figure out how to get the fluid to reabsorb more rapidly. I think that regularly massaging the groin area above the testicles and the testicles themselves (especially the one with the hydrocele) is one way to stimulate this reabsorption, which (according to the 2nd doctor I saw) most likely happens through the lymph nodes--which I think I probably damaged while working out with a very heavy bar across my groin area a few months ago. I've been thinking about other ways I could stimulate reabsorption of the fluid, and one idea I have is to apply cold treatment. Putting a cold pack down there is going to get the testicles to draw up into the body, which I assume would encourage the body to simultaneously start absorbing more of the fluid that would also be drawn up into the body. Also, although I've found that it's too challenging to wear the Bull Bag at work, I was thinking it might be a good idea to start putting some kind of bandaging over the hydrocele testicle to give it a very gentle squeeze and hold it more closely to the body. It seems that this would encourage more reabsorption of the liquid. Sometimes, when I get really frustrated with the hydrocele, I will squeeze it as hard as I can without it hurting, and I swear after doing this for a while it does seem to shrink a bit, and at times my testicles will almost seem to be back to normal. So there does definitely seem to be some fluctuation going on. This is not just a static condition of fluid that has been stuck down there for months. Fluid is always flowing in and out, it's just that now it's flowing out more slowly. The question is, how do I stimulate increased outflow (reabsorption)? Unfortunately western medicine tends to focus less on systems, its two main interventions being medication and surgery (the money makers). I am honestly shocked at how little urologists really seem to know about the SYSTEMS that are involved in a hydrocele. And I believe that it is working with my body's systems that will help me to get my testicle back to a more normal size.

I also have a hydrocele that is very annoying.  It has been going on for

8 years. Started with itch in scrotum. I believe it has to do with diet and inflammation.

I can't take the step of surgery for fears of what the consequences may be and

that it is not addressing the source.

I have eaten lots of junk in my life. And still love the sugars. But I know its time

to make a change.  I'm going to have to try extreme diet change, cold baths, 

and other holistic type stuff first.

I suggest you do the same.

I posted about this yesterday, but it got deleted by a moderator. I don't know why, so let me try again. My continued research on this topic led me to discover an article about a procedure called ASPIRATION AND SCLEROTHERAPY by Francis & Levine (2013) in the Journal of Urology. You can look it up on PubMed. I read the entire article (Dr. Levine has it posted on his website), and I am convinced this is the best way to treat a hydrocele. Sadly most urologists do not seem to offer this intervention, even though it was published in the Journal of Urology. I found another message board where people say men travel from all over to get the procedure done with Dr. Levine in Chicago. I may do the same if I can't find anyone in NYC who does it the same way. What I love about this procedure is that it doesn't involve any surgery or cutting, just removal of the excess liquid, and then insertion of a powerful antibiotic that prevents the hydrocele from re-forming.

I lived with an enlarged hydrocele for too long. While it did not hurt it was, without exaggeration, the size of a small coconut. I had to hide it with a strategically placed bag or newspaper when I walked down the street.

For 7 years I was terrified of all the stories about the operation and after effects and during that time the hydrocele just kept getting bigger, month by month.

Bendito, read my story of the op. Sure it hurts a bit, sure it means you move slowly for a few days.

Get it done, you will not believe the relief, and the discomfort can be measured in days not years.

After years of a hydrocele, I finally stumbled across aspiration w/ sclerotherapy. I then spend another year talking with every urologist I could find in Salt Lake and Utah Valleys, with no success. I am convinced this is the best first choice for hydrocele, but most Urologists know basically nothing about it. Even when you show the studies, they refuse and say stuff like "it almost always comes back", and "it's just bad practice", even though the articles are from medical journals and clearly demonstrate cure rates are 50-100%. Finally I found a PA at St George Urology in St George UT who has experience with this using doxycycline, and is willing to do it for me with Phenol. I'm on a mission to spread the word now, after years of suffering daily with this issue and being dismissed when I wanted anything but surgery. I'm scheduled for Nov 20 for the procedure, so I'll post with the results.