Swelling after hydrocelectomy
Posted , 86 users are following.
Just wondering if anyone has had the same experience I have had following a hydrocelectomy. I am now 10 weeks post op and still have some swelling (egg size) I saw my doc about 5 weeks after surgery and he didnt seem concerned and doesnt want to see me again till December. I have read it can take 3-6 months for all swelling to subside but I was just curiouse if anyone has had the same problem as me as I am still kind of nervous.
4 likes, 295 replies
BCally pf7
Posted
...In any case, you need to realize that yes, there will be swelling ANY time you have surgery and there is always the chance of infection. The number 1 way to avoid the infection is to pay extra attention to hygene (not implying that you dont); feed your immune system things like vitamin C via a multi vitamin; and follow the instructions to the "T" if you are given antibiotics. Using things like neosporin on the incision site in intervals (Dont leave it on there ALL the time unless instructed by your doctor), will also help decrease infection. If you are not eating right, then there is a chance that your incision site will take longer to heal and that your suture marks stay longer (as it is, you are likely to see that incision line for a good while). To reduce this time, you should exercise good health habbits and maintain a good diet.
Now onto the hydrocele itself...
I work in surgery as an assist, and I can tell you from experience that hydrocele's have the ability to grow to roughly the size of a grapefruit. Imagine hauling THAT around! o.0 As you can imagine there are a number of complications with hauling around that much extra fluid in one's scrotum. So Try to think of the surgery which you elected to do, as more of a preventative procedure. Your decision may have very likely saved you from having to know what the 'grapefruit' was like (something I have seen any number of times).
pf7 BCally
Posted
lewyman633 pf7
Posted
I'm now 9 days post Op
Everything is healing fine most or all of the bruising has disappeared
My question is when I wake up in the morning everything is fine but when I go for a drive ( I drive for a living) after a couple of minutes I start to get a pain in the same side as the hydrocele was, it feels like someone tearing at the muscle although the right testicle feels rock hard
I did the light trick on the sack and nothing showed up so that was a relief
Was just wondering if anyone else had the same feeling ?
I think it's a bit too early to go to the local GP yet.
pf7 lewyman633
Posted
They stitch the testicle to the inside of the scrotum during the procedure so that might be what you are feeling. The feeling goes away over time and the testicle won't feel as hard either.
brian46740 lewyman633
Posted
Hey how you doing i just had my surgery about 5 days ago. I have alot of pain when I walk or sit for a long time. When I an laying down I get no pain. I get pain right on top of my testicle. Like if it's soared. How long does the pain take to go away?
dan56599 pf7
Edited
Hey I believe i'm having the exact same issue as you. So last year I went to get a physical and the doctor noticed a big difference in size between the two testicles. She asked if it was hurting and it wasnt. In my opinion i thought the size was perfectly fine, it was not noticible, did not bother me, and did not hurt. BUT of course these filthy doctors told me something is wrong and i got sent for an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed a lot of fluid around the testicle and at the time my testicle was changing size, so it was identified as a hydrocele. I told the doctor I was fine bc it did not bother me
dan56599
Posted
So then i told the doctor that ill just wait till it gets really big, and the doctor scared me with "it could turn into ... ect" So i had surgery the next month. Now after surgery the testicle was huge, like 4 times larger, i instantly called and they told me this was normal and it could take 2-6 weeks for swelling to go away. After the 1st week/half I called them again and told them that it wasnt getting smaller so i made them schedule an appointment. The appointment was scheduled with the surgeon but somehow ended up being with a lady nurse. So the lady asked a bunch of q's and checked if their was any blood in my scrotum. She said that it was common and their was no blood. 2 weeks later I had my normal appointment with my surgeon, he said nothing was wrong but it could take up to 8 months to become normal size. 4 months pass and the testicle was still huge. 6 months pass and it was still like 3.5 times the size so I had no hope at this point. Absolutely sick of walking around school trying to hide this thing with baggy shirts. So I met with my surgeon again and he scheduled another ultrasound. The ultrasound showed a ton of fluid around my testicle. My surgeon told me my body wasnt absorbing the fluid WITHOUT a connection. We got a second opinion and the guy said he would give the other surgeon a note on what he should do. He said he will flip the tissue backward so my body absorbs the fluid. I recently had surgery 6 days ago. This time it is quite a bit smaller from before surgery, but still much bigger then a normal size and the size of before the first surgery. From day 1 of surgery to now it hasnt changed size. Ive noticed the testicle is small? But around it is very meaty just like yours. I'm really confused, that these clown ass doctors/surgeons have such a silly recovery time of 2-6 weeks which is clearly misleading. If I knew it could take 6-8 months to return back normal, no way would I have done it. Ill update you guys in the next couple weeks.
pf7 dan56599
Edited
Originally my testicle wasn't that big I had noticed a small increase in size and I could actually feel the fluid filling up when I got out of bed in the morning. The testicle would get bigger as the day went on and get smaller the longer I layed in bed. The doctor I went to said it was no big deal and that the surgery would fix everything but that fluid would remain if I didn't have the surgery so obviously I went with the surgery. Now after 2 surgeries my testicle is still the size of an egg (it's not fluid it's the actual testicle) and 2 different doctors can't tell me how my testicle grew in size. I am aware that there is some scar tissue as a result of them peeling the layers back and stitching it to the back of the testicle but none of these doctors have any answers for me as far as the increase in testicular size. This has completely shot all self confidence that I had and I am still paying off the deductibles from both surgeries.
dan56599 pf7
Edited
yasin07745 dan56599
Posted
josh84458 pf7
Posted
Just read through this thread, has your guys balls healed up yet? I'm like 6 months in and my ball is still very much egg size
pf7 josh84458
Posted
Yes all healed(been almm ost 2 yearsvsince operation) but still the size of an egg like yours. If it hasn't gone down by now that's pretty much what you are going to be stuck with.
BCally josh84458
Posted
So think about what is done in surgery for this: there is extra tissue that grows in order to accommodate for the fluid build up. The surgeon removed most of this. However, there is still going to be tissue remaining ( and potentially even small amounts of fluid remaining that were not accessible). The good news is that the tissue will be removed over time by your body. This process and how long it takes is largely based on your specific physiology--Do you eat well? Do you get enough exercise (now that the stitches have healed)? ***how is your immune system?
Also, if there is some variation in size between your testicles, you may be relieved to know that this isn't as uncommon as you might think. The fact of the matter is that we have all had this surgery in order to stop the hydrocele from growing to the size of a softball or larger. An egg-size? No big deal. Try not to sit there and study your testicles - you're psyching yourself out.
jekyl80603 BCally
Posted
Agree with you, differences in sizes of testes between left and right is typical. Little different than breasts or strength between left & right side of the body.
Also, the tissue of this membrane is not all that much. Very similar to a latex balloon.... Just that once stretched, it does not return to its original size. The scrotum skin & muscles are much thicker in comparison, and at least theoretically can return to original size - just like losing a lot of weight.
sanjeet7192 pf7
Posted