My Hydrocelectomy Experience 47Y M

I want to document and share my hydrocelectomy experience so that it may hopefully be of benefit to someone else out there that is undergoing a similar situation. I have found it very helpful to read about the experiences of others and, while many of the stories on blogs and forums such as this seem to relate a negative process or outcome, my surgery and recovery has not been too bad so far (Day 5 post surgery). I recognize that there is still a path ahead and things might take a turn for the worse, but I am hopeful that I will continue to heal and recover fully without complications. I assume that the reason many online stories demonstrate negative and/or challenging outcomes is that most of us are more motivated to post and seek answers following a bad experience rather than when things go well. I've noted that there are not many posts here where the original poster continues to post for months and years after their surgery. I'm guessing people move on and forget about this eventually and it does not impact their daily lives to the point that they seek out online forums. Anyway, enough rambling. Here's my story:

~2009: Had a vasectomy after my wife gave birth to our 4th child. I don't really recall having any issues with the procedure itself or noticing any negatives from the vasectomy. Being able freely have sex without worrying about contraceptives or pregnancy has been great ever since! I would choose to do it again.

~2017: Started to notice a small bulge about the size of a grape on the front of my scrotum on the left side next to the base of my penis. This bulge appeared to come and go. I would notice it when my scrotal sack was relaxed and hanging after taking a warm shower more than when it was cold and everything was sucked up tight to my body. I assumed that I probably had a small inguinal hernia, but it didn't cause me any pain or discomfort, so I mostly ignored/forgot about it. It remained this way for several years and I never had it checked by a doctor.

2019: The bulge in my ball sack seemed to be less defined to one specific area and seemed to be noticeable all the time. It was no longer the size of a grape...probably more like a golf ball. But still did not cause me any pain or discomfort.

Early 2020: The bulge seemed to be getting larger and was now closer to the size of a lemon. The pressure on my testicle was a bit uncomfortable at times so I decided to go see a doctor.

June 2020: Had an appointment with my physician. He used a light to shine through the skin and was happy to see that the light illuminated the entire side of my left scrotal sack. Apparently that's a good sign that it was unlikely to be cancer. I had not been too concerned that it was cancer but that was good to know. I went home and showed my wife how cool it was shining a light through my scrotum! Doctor suspected it was a hydrocele and not a hernia as I had assumed. I had never heard of a hydrocele prior to this. Doctor ordered an ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis. A few days later, I was lying on my back getting a pretty unusual view of my nuts from the ultrasound technician. I jokingly indicated that I was excited to see the little bean and know if I was having a boy or a girl. It looked like a sack of fluid with little particles gently floating around kind of like a snow globe.

July 2020: Had an appointment with a urologist...the same one that performed my vasectomy years earlier. He confirmed that it was a hydrocele and explained that the options were to have surgery to remove it or live with it. He indicated that unless it was causing me significant discomfort, it was probably best to let it be as the surgery and recovery can be difficult. I decided to live with it.

Late 2020: I began to experience more discomfort even when engaged in normal every day tasks such as driving a car or sitting at a desk. I also began to feel pain in my left hip but was not certain if it was a separate issue or related to the hydrocele. I also began to have some pain while having sex at times, but I figured this was mostly related to adding additional pressure to the testicle depending on the position or movement. I began to think that I needed to address this issue once again, but decided to seek out the opinion of a different urologist since the once that I had seen previously was so negative towards the surgical resolution of the problem.

February 2021: Had an appointment with a different urologist that was recommended to me by my wife's coworker. Once again, the doctor did the illumination test with the bright light and checked for a hernia. The doctor explained that the surgical removal of the hydrocele could indeed be a painful, difficult experience (said that it would probably be the worst thing that I would experience in a year's time, but probably not the worst thing I would experience in my life time...that was comforting). Nonetheless, the doctor seemed more optimistic towards a positive outcome if that was my choice. I decided to move forward with the surgery a month later.

March 16, 2021 (Day 0): I was asked to arrive at the hospital at 11:00 AM and not to eat or drink beginning at midnight the night before. Got checked in, changed into my gown, and an IV started in my right arm. Nurse had indicated that the doctor would be in to see me around 12:30 PM and that the surgery would take around 1 hour and 1-2 hours for recovery. I was most curious if the doctor was going to have me mark my left nut as the one that he was going to perform surgery on since this seems to be standard practice for other procedures such as knee surgeries so that they don't accidentally operate on the wrong side. Sure enough, the doctor showed up a bit late after 1:00 PM and took a quick look and had me verbally confirm that it was the left side! Doctor said that he was planning to cut vertically right down the center of the scrotum and would use dissolvable stitches on the inside and glue to close the incision on the outside. I asked about a drain and he said that he was not planning to do that. Nurses rolled me into the operating room and I moved from the bed to the operating table and it was night night. I don't remember going to sleep but it was quick! I awoke sometime later in the recovery room a little groggy but in no pain. I think it was about 3:00 PM. I was wearing a jock strap that was packed with gauze all around my shaft and testicles. My wife came in a short time later and I got dressed and they wheeled me out to our vehicle to go home. We stopped at the pharmacy on the short drive home for some pain meds and anti-nausea medication. I was surprised they didn't keep me at the hospital at least until I went pee or had a bowel movement. After arriving home, I laid on my back in bed and didn't have any activity except one trip to use the restroom. I was able leave the jock strap in place by pulling my penis out the right side and peeing. I took one pain pill that evening for some minor discomfort but overall very little pain.

March 17, 2021 (Day 1): I slept ok as long as I was on my back with my legs open or one knee elevated. I could not roll onto my side as this caused too much pressure and hurt. I did not move out of bed except to use the restroom. I took Tylenol and ibuprofren throughout the day and ate my meals in bed. I did not observe any swelling or bleeding but it would have been difficult to see since I left it packed up with the gauze and jock strap. I could only peek when I went pee. I had a small bowel movement but kept the jock strap no even in sitting position and just pulled my penis out the right side again. It did not hurt but I did feel a little gassy and constipated.

March 18, 2021 (Day 2): I had some coffee for breakfast and this helped to get my system going. Had a good bowel movement still using the jock strap but felt gassy again that afternoon and evening. Continued to take a few Tylenol and ibuprofren pills, but not as regularly as the previous day. Not much pain.

March 19, 2021 (Day 3): I decided to take a shower today. This was the first time that I removed the jock strap and gauze that had been packed in there and could really see what I looked like. The gauze had a bit of dried blood on it and was stuck to the incision. Rather than pulling it off, I just let the water run over it lightly and this allowed it to detach from the incision site. My scrotum looked like a deflated balloon. The incision looked good and there was only a small amount of blood when I patted dry after getting out of the shower. I put the jock strap back on and packed it up to hold things nice and tight again. I think I only took one Tylenol the entire day. Little pain.

March 20, 2021 (Day 4): My wife had to work this day so I was on my own with my two kids that still live at home. Had to drive one of them to baseball practice which wasn't too bad as long as I was able to keep my legs fairly wide open while driving. I had a little more activity this day but still laid around most of the time. One challenge has been getting a full night's sleep. I'm ok on my back for a couple hours but then my lower back really begins to hurt. I'm still unable to sleep on my side comfortably, even when putting a pillow between my knees. So I toss and turn until I finally can't take it anymore. I find that moving to the recliner provides some relief and is more comfortable. No shower today. No ibuprofren or Tylenol.

March 21, 2021 (Day 5): Today I was the most active I have been and hope that I didn't over do it. Went outside and did a few small tasks in the yard but not strenuous at all. I took a shower and things still look good. The incision does not appear to be bleeding at all anymore. Some discomfort while walking and moving. I tried going without the jock strap wearing just tighty whities. Definitely think I need to continue wearing a jock strap as this is much more comfortable.

March 22, 2021 (Day 6): I took a shower this morning. My scrotum seems more rounded out but not swollen nor does it appear larger than it should be. I hope it is not swelling due to my increased activity yesterday. Incision site looks good. Glue is still holding well and no sign of bleeding.

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