Have Hydrocele -- Weighing My Options
Posted , 24 users are following.
I (a 42-year-old male) was diagnosed with a left testicle hydrocele a few months ago and was told I don't need the surgery, but can get it if I ever decide I want it. This website is the only place I've been able to find discussions on this topic, and from what I have read, it doesn't sound like anyone gets amazing results from the surgery. It sounds like most people find that the testicle with the hydrocele ends up being just as big as it was before the surgery, sometimes bigger, plus because of the way it gets stitched up, it doesn't hang normally and has hard spots. Does anyone disagree with this?
It occurred to me that people who have better experiences with the surgery may be less likely to post here, i.e., maybe we're more likely to hear from the men who weren't pleased with the post-surgery results. Is there anyone who is highly satisfied with the results of the surgery, especially anyone who had the surgery one or more years ago? I would really like to hear more success stories, if there are any, from men one or more years post-surgery.
In all honesty this has been one of the most stressful things I have ever experienced. I find myself ruminating about this all the time, to the point that it's sometimes hard to even think about anything else. I just want this damn thing to go away! I'm debating getting the surgery, but am worried that I may end up worse off based on comments I've read on here. I've yet to see even one before and after picture. I just wish there were more information out there on this.
For a while I was thinking about the idea of wrapping something around the hydrocele for a few months to keep it restricted, so that the excess fluid would be forced to be reabsorbed, which would hopefully increase the rate of reabsorption and make the hydrocele go away. I found a device called the Bull Bag made by a company called Perfect Fit; apparently it's a sex toy, but basically it wraps around your balls. I got one and tried it for a day, but it was very uncomfortable, and the testicle with the hydrocele kept coming out. I'm thinking now of maybe trying to constrict the testicle with some kind of cloth underwear device.
Currently my left hydrocele is about twice as big as the right one. I really want to get it back to normal.
Any comments, feedback, advice, etc., will be very much appreciated.
0 likes, 40 replies
bendito
Posted
Hi guys, I went to Dr. Levine in November of last year (2017) and received aspiration and sclerotherapy. Dr. Levine and all of his staff were amazing, and I actually had a really fun time in Chicago, went on a 'pizza tour,' visited the Art Institute, and had a great time visiting a city I've always wanted to visit. Dr. Levine told me it would take about 8 weeks for the hydrocele to go away, and in fact it did go COMPLETELY AWAY in exactly 8 weeks. It was a gradual process, and I was so grateful I sent Dr. Levine a big box of my favorite chocolates (See's). This man got me my testicle back, and without having to go through the disfiguring hydrocelectomy that the corrupt NYC urologists were trying to sell to me (how sick that they would rather leave a man with a disfigured testicle just to make $$$$$$$ rather than actually doing what is in the best interest of the patient). Anyway, I cannot say enough about how amazing Dr. Levine is, really he should be training urologists all over the world how to do aspiration with sclerotherapy. More soon -- I am working on an article about this, so this isn't the last you'll be hearing from this very happy man who got his testicle back.
sam97381 bendito
Posted
I just had this done yesterday and was pretty happy with the procedure other then some pain which subsided in a couple of hours. This is my first day after the sclerotherapy and it is swollen back to almost the original size. How long did it take for yours to go back down after the procedure? How manyy cc was yours. Thanks
bendito sam97381
Posted
it took exactly 8 weeks, which is exactly what Dr. Levine said it would take. this man knows his stuff. i don't remember exactly how many cc's mine was, but he told me it was a small hydrocele.
m86220 bendito
Posted
Hi Bendito, Sam97381, I realize your posts are older, but am checking to see if based on the time it's been since your treatment if you'd still recommend the aspiration with sclerotherapy? I'm 35 years old and have had a size 33ml hydrocele for 1 month. Doctor's I've seen have suggested leaving it alone, and advised against aspiration (for risk of infection), but am interested in Dr. Levine's treatment if it is still a thumbs up from each of you. I'm hopeful for your feedback. Thank you !
InguinalherniaD m86220
Posted
Would love to hear as well!
marcus26421 bendito
Posted
Hi Bendito,
Me too! Everyone's dying to know if it stayed fixed and if you'd still recommend the sclerotherapy?
thanks
ricky05370 bendito
Posted
Hi, reading your msg i understand the frustration. I also had hydrocelectomy in May 2017, my hydrocele is gone, the size improved very much, BUT, it s still slightly bigger than the other testicle. You must remember that first of all, surgery is never been a good thing in someone's body, it doesnt matter which doctor, or which clinic, etc... As long as they start cutting your body, it will never be the same anymore, it will always be affected in some certain points.
So i went to see the surgeon in may 2018, he perfomed an ultra sound, because i was worried about how im feeling, my left testicle where there was surgery, i still feel incomfortable inside, when i touch it, it' soft sometime and it can get harder when the weather is cold, that's normal, that's how scrotum is, since it s the skinnest and softest skin in male body, it can change the size or shapes depending on the mood of your body or temperature.
I still feel weird inside my left scrotum,
It came to the point where i start touching it all the time before i sleep, it sounds funny but that s how it is, and going back to the ultra sound the did, he then told me there is nothing to worry about, no sign of fluid or reoccurence of hydrocele, he then added that the weird feeling inside my scrotum is due to the stiches, when they drain hydrocele out of scrotum, they reverse the sac where hydrocele was, and they pull it behind the testis and the testis now change the shape as well because of stiches from that sac(hydrocele), and that sac hangs right behind the testis most of time it produce scar tissus, think about having a big cut on your skin, a wound and then the doctor has to close that cut with stiches, it will always produce scar tissu in certain point, now inside scotum, the surgeon reversed the sac, twist it a bit, put it together, stiches etc... It will affect the tesis since testis is very sensitive, and he added that it will take time to heal completly but it will go away.
But again listening to some people who also had hydrocelectomy many years ago, many said that your scrotum will never be the same anymore, it will always look slightly bigger than the non affected scrotum, since the scrotum is a very soft skin, it changed its shape due to the presence of hydrocele before the surgery and the stiches after the surgery. Going fof second surgery will not help, it will worsen your scrotum and it will always produce scar tissu everytime they cut again, so be patient, don't think about your scrotum anymore, i understand exactly the feeling, but there is nothing you can do about it of there is no more hydrocele inside then be happy.
Also sometime the doctor need to check the epidymis as well, but if he said there is nothing and be cool and continue to live normally.
I hope it helps a bit.
douglas55127 bendito
Posted
You are correct. You are much more likely to hear bad results on this site. I had a small hydrocele which I easily could have lived with but I went on line and saw and operation on a hydrocele as big as a football. I decided to have the operation. Hydroceles are reabsorbed by infants not adults.
All I can tell you is that I was back on my bike after three days. I thought the operation was trivial. Moreover, the dull ache I had had for 40 years from a vasectomy was done. The worst part of the operation was getting the superglue to release after the operation.