4 weeks post op hydrocele repair.

Men's health
1

Well where do I start, basically up until 4 weeks ago I had been carrying around a very large hydrocele on my right testicle for the best part of 16 years. And my fiancé had finally convinced me to get it repaired, not because it bothered her but because she knew it bothered me.

So I took the step and got the doctors appointment which then led to the pre op urology assessment.

Then the day came, op day!!!!

Now I've no fear of doctors or surgery or being put to sleep, but for some reason I was really nervous about this one, maybe due to the fact that its a delicate area of any mans body.

So I go under the knife

Surgery lasted 2hrs give or take, I spent about 20 minutes in recovery till I'm moved back to my ward at the hospital. Once I'm there I don't know if it was through need or curiosity but either way I really needed to pee. So I remove my jock strap type underwear then the bandaging and sit down to pee as still unsteady on my feet after the anaesthesic. Once finished I checked my testicle and scrotum and noticed that my testicle was about a quarter of the size. Still slightly larger than the left one.

So I get sent home later that day, pain is more uncomfortable than anything else

Off to bed, sleeping is really difficult as I sleep on my stomach normally. But that was impossible for the foreseeable future.

Next morning the pain has went from a 2 to a 12. Painkillers every 4 hours make it bearable.

As week one wears on pains is getting worse and swelling is increasing

Start of week too, back to the hospital for an ultrasound find out I have an infection and a blood clot

Sent home with antibiotics

Take the full course (14 days)

Size stays the same for the whole time I'm on anti biotics

So that was me 3 weeks post op

4th week swelling seems to be slowly going down. Pain is non existent really. Infection has gone.

Been for my 4 week post op check up. Doctor reassures me that swelling can take anything from 6weeks to 6 months to go down.

So after this long winded description,

I would highly recommend anyone with a very large hydrocele, to get the op done. I'm at a stage now where it's starting to make noticeable changes to my life.

The op isn't painless

It's not a quick fix

But times a great healer

Hope this helps settle anyone's worries pre op or post op.

Thanks for reading

Sorry if I bored you

2

i had same infection and blood clot. Problem with mine they ended up operating again and removing the testicle. Good luck hope infection and clot goes for you. 

3

They seem to be happy with mine so far, I was at a check up appointment yesterday. Mines has lost about a third of its size in the last 4 or 5 days so fingers crossed it keeps shrinking. What were you like after your removal op?

4

I was interested to hear you had been living with it for 16 years.  I have for only two, maybe only 18 months as a bother.   Gets the size of a clenched fist and some times reduces to only twice as big as my left one, which seems to occasionally hold more fluid than it should.  

I was also interested in codierose saying he had the entire testicle removed.  This seems to me to be a better opyion than the surgical attempt to correct it.

I am 56 and am less concerned with keeping it if it can be removed virtually pain free and it solves the problem.  It is quite embarrasing sometimes.   I wear jeans all the time and when fully charged with fluid I believe it becomes obvious. 

Hard to sit comfortably sometimes.

Don't like Drs. much at all so this surgical issue is not top of my preference.  We also have very few to choose from around here.

Thanks for all the information, and no-one who has this issue would be bored reading your writing no matter how long.   All information is good information.

 

5

Thank you for your reply, my hydrocele was probably equal or slightly greater to the size of a large pear. It had started from a pretty severe kick to the groin in secondary school. And had continued to grow from then until my op in January. It was very noticeable no matter what clothing I was wearing. Thankfully not many people tend to look at that area. Since having it fixed Im just now coming to realise just how many adjustments I was making in day to day living due to the size of it.

I hate hospitals, so I had put the op off for far too long if I'm honest. I'm happy I got it fixed now but for me the road to recovery has been long.

Saying that Ive heard of others having very little ill effect from the operation and making a full recovery very quickly.

I hope if you choose to have it corrected you have a speedy recover. And thank you agin for your reply.

6

Hi there,

Yes I agree . . I'm going to be saying

"Have the surgery !"

I'm a 50 yo male. Late 2013 I noticed increase in size of testicle sac . . weeks passed and obviously worried as to causes . . but just hoped it would go away . .

May 2014 . . swelling was about the size of a medium size apple 🍎. .

Most of my knowledge came from the internet . . so I was aware there was more than one possible explanation . .

I had to go GP and by shining a torch 🔦 through scrotum he quickly confirmed that it was most likely hydrocele (if he hadn't been able to see the light of the torch 🔦 from the other side it was most likely some other cause and not hydrocele) because he could see the light of the torch 🔦 right through.

After all the pre-op assessments and tests at the hospital 🏥 I was offered a cancellation first in October and then again December 2014 (turned both appts down due to too short notice etc) and the swelling by now was the size of a large apple 🍎. . I wasn't worried by size as I had been reassured it was harmless but I wanted it gone . .

Went in for surgery mid-January 2015 and all went well . . So I am posting this to help you all with the post-op experience. .

DO take a week off work with the option of a second week off if necessary . . I benefitted from being on my back or on my side so definitely I recommend horizontal position over any position which involved sitting up or standing. . Gravity was the biggest enemy.

DO BUY some men's towels from Boots.

It was about 2.5 weeks before the discomfort from the inflammation subsided . . and peeing accurately initially was a problem due to bandaging etc.

Bleeding started after 2.5 weeks which was alarming as I hadn't expected that but the towels were helpful there.

All in all, by the end of the fourth week after surgery, things were back to normal . . Including ALL physical activities.

Take care

7

Had my surgery today! (Im typing this in an altered state of pain killers so forgive typos and grammatical errors). This has been a very helpful post-- thanks! Pear sized on the right which grew pretty rapidly over about 18 months. 225 ccs of fluid removed. I was looking forward to it as it had become a noticeable distraction and was beginning to throb from pressure. I didn't realize the recovery is looking like 4 weeks(??). From the pain and discomfort from mere gravity, I can feel what is being described. Ice packs are my best friend at the moment. Thanks to all who've contributed!

8

Hi Chris and all who have suffered with a hydrocele . Mine started about 3 Years ago and slowly grew bigger and bigger untill size of grapefruit it was like having a babies head between my legs. To make things worse it was very painful and unbearable. I was put on the waiting list and told by letter I was a catagory 4.I started to visit A and E telling them how much pain i was in.
After keep going one of the doctors said he would try and get me up the list so i thanked him and struggled home. Few weeks later gets another letter saying i was catagory 2.I thought you never know your luck. Another few weeks down the line
bingo i got an appointment to have the surgery done 26th May day patient .After the surgery i was sent home.The pain never went and after 5 days my wife had to get me an ambulance i had lost the plot they took me back to adifferent hospital and had to have emergancy surgery on the same wound to be told later that i had caught Sepsis
I am now about 8 days post opp but still feeling
very tender. Feeling much better though.

9

I have just had the Hydrocele repair surgery 9 days ago on my left testicle but my scrotum on the same side is twice the size of my right side . I have watched videos of this type of surgery every one the incision on the same side of the problem. but can’t understand why my surgeon cut me in the from the base of pines going down 3 inches not 3 centimetre and the stitching looks like someone made Haggis with my scrotum. and every move like needles stabbing me in the stitching place . it looks unprofessional or like someone practising on me . before I went the knife the surgeon was only about the outcome of the surgery I almost changed my mind but I was worried if I would get another appointment. all what she concern about her not to get sued . she kept reading things and papers and asking me to sign I was signing without even hearing her .all I was thinking this lady she was concerned about herself and the welfare of her patient . I will recommend anyone to have type of surgery by this surgeon. I couldn’t pull out because I have been waiting for 2 years . I wish now if I walked out from that hospital after talking to this unpleasant surgeon she gives no confidence at all. I wish I could remember her. don’t get me wrong the nurses in the hospital brilliant as usual. but this surgeon is something sinister about her. and the place is day surgery in Rotherham.

10

i appreciate the long post. I am currently 2 weeks post-op today. According to my surgeon’s summary, he drained 350cc of fluid from my hydrocele. It was pretty large… I initially got the surgery because I had my hydrocele since I was a teenager, about 15+ years.. It started getting noticeably bigger over the past year, so my wife convinced me to get the surgery as the discomfort was annoying. The biggest reason though is because my penis started to “turtle”, and I assumed it was because of the size of my hydrocele and that was the most annoying thing that was the last straw for me to get the surgery.

2 weeks post-op, I am still swollen (at least I hope it is just swelling). The left side where the hydrocele was is thick, and it all looks weird down there. The right side all looks normal still though, luckily. I am just hoping that by the time I hit 4 weeks like others have responded, that I’ll go back to a more normal size and all this will be worth it, i.e. my penis will stop turtling.

Thanks for the info everyone! Hearing more than one person about the 4 week mark really eased my mind a bit.