Hydrocele Sclerotherapy Experience

I received two sclerotherapy treatments for my hydrocele this summer and wanted to relay my experience. They used STDS as the sclerosing agent.

1. Bottom Line: I did not get full resolution of my hydrocele. However, I did see a durable reduction of my hydrocele by about 25% after two treatments. The doctor noted that even with hydrocelectomy success many patients only see a reduction of the hydrocele volume versus full resolution and the recovery time is much longer. Also I wanted to note that my hydrocele was not septated (usually a septated hydrocele is not a good candidate for sclerotherapy).

2. The procedure is fast and relatively painless.

3. Recovery was very fast. I was sore for about 2 days but pretty much 100% after that.

4. I had some soreness around the injection site for about two weeks but it was about a 2 out of 10 on the pain scale and only felt it occasionally.

5. This is a generally very low risk option and if it doesn't work it does not preclude you from getting a hydrocelectomy later. Some have said that the scarring from the sclerotherapy could make a future hydrocelectomy more complicated but there is no real world data on that and my doctor said this is not his experience. Though this is certainly possible and a risk to consider.

6. After the first treatment my hydrocele returned after a few weeks but at a lower volume. This was confirmed at the second treatment because they removed 120 mL (first treatment they removed 150 mL). After the second treatment my hydrocele returned after a week and while I do not know the volume it feels probably 20-25% less than the first treatment.

7. I think this is a good option if you think a 25%ish reduction of your hydrocele is something you can live with. Of course you can get lucky and get a greater reduction of even full resolution but I get the sense that is not the most common outcome. Nevertheless, it is low risk and fast recovery.

8. It is difficult to find doctors that do sclerotherapy because it is not the "standard of care" and I believe the success rates are variable (a lot of studies say 90% success but I don't think that matches with current real world data). But doing some research there are a few out there. While the dearth of sclerotherapy providers concerned me, the non-invasive and low risk nature of the procedure made me think why not give it a chance.

9. My overall experience was positive. The two treatments took an hour each and I was 100% within two days. I think the vast majority of hydrocelectomy patients have successful experiences long term but as we know there are complication risks and medium recovery times. For me. sclerotherapy did not lead to full resolution but I had minimal recovery time, no complications and a 25% reduction in size is very livable for me. As a result, I consider sclerotherapy a success. I wanted to share my experience because there is little data or experience with sclerotherapy online and hopefully it helps inform future hydrocele patients of their options.

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