Swollen scrotum
Posted , 7 users are following.
Hello..
just wondering if anyone can help and share some advise.
I had my hydrocele drained 10 days ago.
The procedure was fine, the surgeon drained the fluid and in his words "turned the sack inside-out" to prevent it filling again.
Day 3 and i started to experience shooting pains into my lower abdomen, day 8 i went to my doctors who prescribed me some antibiotics as she thought it could be the start of infection.
So day 10 and i feel much better, no pains and the cut is healing very well if not completely healed.
My only concern now is the swelling, its huge, bigger than before the opp. Ive been taking anti inflam's but they just don't seem to be working. I haven't tried ice packs but am going to give this a go tonight.
I'm desperate to get back to work but i have a very physical job and have been told i wouldn't be able to go back until fully fit.
Has anybody experienced this swelling and how long before it starts to go down?
Thanks in advance..
0 likes, 17 replies
Golden21 sean41347
Posted
my swelling was unbelievable bigger and an extremely weird and painful shape. it weeped for weeks and eventually went down. i have always been told two things by surgeons; after 12 years old groin based operations are agony and the hydrocelectomy will never likely be a perfect solution to the issue. if it improves your stabdard of life like it did mine it is the best thing to have done
best of luck with the recovery 😃
sean41347 Golden21
Posted
Thanks Golden
Hopefully it'll go down soon, it has only been 12 days since surgery but from what I've been reading on the NHS website it suggests it should be going back to normal size within 4 to 7 days. I suppose everybody heals differently though. Thank you for your reply.
mick24946 sean41347
Posted
Big thumbs up to the NHS, I was admitted as an emergency (the pain was intense), first op time (basically 6 hours after I had breakfast before arriving at the hospital) was cancelled as there was an emergency higher than mine (RTA I later heard). After a sleepless night due to an emergency admission onto my ward ( beds being moved, nurses running up and down...) - oh and a sandwich for dinner.... finally got surgery the following afternoon - further ultrasound to determine exactly what they were going to do.
Even the food wasn't too bad....
Everyone I saw was cheerful, professional and helpful. Top marks.
josh28113 sean41347
Posted
Mine did the exact same thing. I went back to the Dr. and he said that it was normal for swelling but not to that degree so he set me up for an in office needle aspiration. That went fine, hardly any pain but what he drained was not the clear fluid from before it was blood, he described it as a hematoma. Everything looked fine when he was done but it came right back. I'm going to give it to after the new year and if it hasn't gone down any I will seek advice from another Dr. Side note, you can tell if yours is blood or hydrocele fluid by putting a flash light of some sort under your sack, if it's blood you won't be able to see through it and if you can then your hydrocele came back. Good luck with everything!
sean41347 josh28113
Posted
Thanks Josh
I'm hoping it won't come to that, although i have tried the torch trick and it doesn't illuminate like it did with the hydrocele but as i mentioned in the reply to Golden (above), it has only been 12 days so fingers crossed it'll start to go down over the next week or so.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that you don't need any further surgery.
Thank you for the reply too..
john6969 sean41347
Posted
well, its awfully early to expect no swelling, i had mine done august 29th, 24 ounce fluids removed, my best friend were ice packs. do not be alarmed but, i am still swollen. i see my surgeon again in january. im sure you will be fine soon! ice, really reduced mine.. i took no pills. even though im still swollen, its 1/4 of what it was before august 29th..;)
mick24946 sean41347
Posted
I had mine on 3 August, the size is almost back to normal, but the testicle is still tender. When I mentioned this at another urology appointment (my PSA is raised, had an MRI scan, PRIADS 2, on active surveillance for prostate issues) the specialist told me the tenderness make take months, or years or may never go! (Whopee...)
The main issue I have is getting underwear which is comfortable, finally settled on Kiniki briefs which do not have a seam down the front, and give good support. Apparently they are useful if you have a scrotal hernia repair too. Not really my usual style, but the are comfortable!
I used to wear boxers in bed, but with a tender testicle getting trapped... well, you can imagine!
Lee1985 mick24946
Posted
hey mick, did you ever find anything out about why your PSA was raised?
I had my hydrocelectomy on Oct 24th, 8 weeks ago, and ive been having some pain in the perineum area when sitting. Not sure if this ks referred pain from the incision as its still a bit sore or something else. i had some blood work done to check my PSA but wont get the results for another week or so.
hope your doing better.
Also to answer the Op, my swelling stayed about the same until about 4 weeks then started to slowly go down. At 8 weeks my incision is still sore when touched, testicle is very tender when touched and still has some lumps at the incision site that still need to heal hopefully.
the testicle also rides higher and doesn't sink down much when the area is warmed up.
mick24946 Lee1985
Posted
I have some 'focal adenomas' in my prostate, probably benign, but another PSA test in early Feb. Fingers crossed.... Prostate is quite large (38ml).
mick24946
Posted
PSA is down to 2.7, next test in July/August.
Specialist think I may have had some prostatitis which may have raised PSA.
rick53555 sean41347
Posted
its pretty normal. my swelling lasted over 6 weeks. turned out i did have a hematoma and if that is the case it takes the body even longer to reabsorb the blood. i was extremely frustrated but just gave up worrying about it. it got smaller little by little. i would say for me it was 6 months for it to fully go back to "normal". and even after that it would just sometimes ache like crazy for a week. Even after a full year when it was back to complete normal size tight crotch jeans would set it off and it would swell slightly. Life in the big ball city i guess. 😃 Hang in there brother.
sean41347 rick53555
Posted
Thanks for all the replies guys.
I'm not going to worry about it now, the swelling hasn't gone down any so could possibly be a hematoma. However, taking the positives, i'm in no pain, no infection and the cut is completely healed now. I've spoken to my manager at work (firefighter) and he's happy for me to return so i'll be on driving duties for a while. Once again, thank you for the reassurance and advise. I will keep checking this forum and hopefully will be able to share my experience with anyone who wants some advise. Look after one another! ✌❤
john6969 sean41347
Posted
proud of our firefighters! best to you!
sean41347
Posted
Update Guys..
So i went into work on Sunday, fine, Monday night, fine, Tuesday night just before parade i felt a wet sensation in my crotch, looked down to discover a wet patch inbetween my legs. Straight to the toilet to inspect and to my horror my boxer shorts were soaking wet with a mixture of clear fluid and blood.
The pressure had pushed the fluid out of the healed wound. Thankfully the paramedics also work from my station so i was seen straight away and went straight to A&E.
Yesterday i was in for an emergency operation to remove a hematoma. The docs said it was one of the largest they had seen. The nurse who woke me after the operation said in her words "you poor sod, that was huge and looked so sore". I was kept in overnight and had a small drain tube fitted. Today i spoke with my consultant who assured me that the hematoma had been completely removed and any possible bleed was cauterised. He removed the drainage tube and dressed the wound (no stitch as he said the tube was very small in diameter and the scrotum heals very well). So now im sat at home with what feels like a brand new set of normally sized crown jewels, all be it a little sick from the morphine but hey-ho. The drainage tube removal didn't really hurt but it was a little uncomfortable. So my message to anyone with similar symptoms is trust your gut and don't settle for a GP's opinion if they're not from a urology background. I was told if it had been infected then there would be a high chance i would have lost the testicle.
john6969 sean41347
Posted
wow!! i had an ultrasound yesterday, i have an upper hematoma , epididimal cyst. my uroligist said nothing to be worried about, they told me it may drain by itself thru the bottom of my incision. but since i had my hydrocelectomy august 29th, its unlikely, that will happen. they told me my body should absorb the blood and fluid in time its hard as a rock, size of a sideways hard boiled egg. they suggested heating pads.. i have no pain, testicles thru ultrasound are doing great.. so, this may take months.. its allready been 4months.. but. my dog jumped into my lap and landed on my nuts, a few weeks ago, so, that probably didn't help..good luck to you, sounds like finally your getting back to normal.
mick24946 sean41347
Posted
They left a drain in mine, removed day after the op. (Nervous when I saw the nurse approaching my 'bits' with a scalpel...). No stitches after drain removal, I used sterile pads, changing twice daily, it took nearly 3 weeks for it to dry up (and weekly visits to the nurse at the local practice for wound checks).
All my swelling has gone down, but my left testicle is still somewhat 'tender', and is higher than the other one. The wound is sometimes a bit 'sore' as well (I think the scar gets pulled).
mick24946
Posted
Forgot to say, my diagnosis was epi-didymitis with abscess - so I had an infection, the hydrocelectomy was to drain the lot. I was warned before the op that the testicle may be dead, but they wouldn't know until they opened me up. It was OK and I am still intact - not that it is an issue for me, nearly 70 and 2 kids in their 30s, don't think I want any more!