Plz update us on Sclerotherapy results

Men's health
1

Hello all, I have had a failed hydrocelectomy. I am very interested in the nonsurgical alternative available through Dr Levine in Chicago and several others in Utah. Could those who have had the procedure please post updates on your condition and if the fix lasted. I am sure there are many besides myself who are interested and the postings and follow up reports from people who have had are are sporadic on this forum. Lets hear how you are doing and what the procedure and immediate aftermath were like as well as longer term results. Thanks so much

2

I had my Hydrocelectomy suregry done last year. I have stidied this subject in great depth and range. First and foremost:

  1. Hydrocele can't be cured by any medicine . Only surgery can get rid of Hydrocele
  2. If Hydrocelectomy suregry failed, forget about your existing urologist and you need to go to a another reputed Urologist surgeon who has successfully done Hydrocele surgeries for at least 10 years and get it operated again at right time. Follow advice of the experienced and successful Urologist surgeon.
  3. The surgery should be done in a modern Hospital and not in a Urologist's clinic
  4. Proper after surgery care should be taken along with at least 2-3 weeks of rest and antibiotics, maintaining proper hygiene so that local infection is avoided.
  5. Often you should insist on your surgeon to prescribe one week course of antibiotics as it prevents any secondary infections
3

I wholeheartedly agree with the above points. I had surgery in hospital , day surgery unit in December and was fully healed by Mid January. I had a great surgeon here in Washington who specialized in the field and really no bad outcome, noticeable scar and now looks like there is no difference in scrotum. I guess the size of a guys hydrocele is an important consideration to healing time. Happy to recommend hospital and doc if you pm me.

thanks

4

I went to Dr Levine last July - waited the 4 months they recommended and had a failed result (it became larger than before) . They said I could have another procedure done or go the hydrocelectomy route as they could only do it twice. In the meantime I called the Utah PA that was mentioned on this board - he told me he did not practice sclerotherapy any longer and also that he never had a 100% successful sclerotherapy that did not require surgery. So that kind of helped make my mind up - had surgery in December and am doing great now.

5

Just wondering how your surgery went. I'm schedule to have it done in a week and a half. I was considering doing the sclerotherapy and just read your post. thanks...

6

Surgery went well - after reading several posts on here post op was definitely more difficult than I had planned. Supposedly a fever/sweats is the norm for a few days after surgery - especially if you are resting more than up walking - and the anesthesia really seemed to effect me in terms of doing the breathing exercises afterwords (with that ball breathing thing). The first week is tough, but worth it after a year with a hydrocele. Back to doing crossfit now and doing great. I'd do surgery sooner than waiting a year from hydrocele diagnosis if I had to do it again.

7

Any Drs on the east coast you recommend?

8

I just had my hydrocyle drained today. 400cc. my uroligist is researching sclerotherapy and is open to trying anything. I'm in Oklahoma and will update.

9

Hi Tyler, Welcome to this ballsy group. :-) I am Charlie, the person who started this thread of inquiry about Sclerotherapy. If you read the several replies from people who actually tried it, the results are not promising. One of the two Drs who used the procedure has reportedly dropped it for lack of success. I am very interested if you find evidence to the contrary. Meanwhile, I am interested in your results with draining the hydrocele. Has the effect lasted? Some here say it refills in a day or two but its not clear if they speak from experience. I am hoping for some reports from people who have actually had the draining done to see if you can get longer results. Like for instance, if your hydrocele took two years to fill to an alarming size, will draining it buy you another two years before it refills to previous size? Keep us posted, please. I may bother you for an update in a few months and encourage others who had theirs drained to pipe in with feedback. Thanks to everyone. This group does not discuss often but its valuable when they do.

10

i had my hydrocele aspirated more than once. it always came back. it was much smaller than 400cc though. finally had surgery to remove in December. Best decision, great results.

11

Thanks for your contribution. May I ask how long it took for the aspirated hydrocele to return to its previous size after treatment? Thanks

12

I will go back for my follow up in a week and a half. Ill update what he says about Sclerotherapy. Been 4 days no change yet, however I assume it will come back. I've been researching hydroceles for 2 years hopeing a viable alternative to surgery is found.

13

Thanks for your reply JS. May Ia sk how long it took for the hydrocele to refill after you had it drained? Thanks

14

sometimes a few months. sometimes a year.probably had aspiration 3-4 times over 10 years

15

i have pretty big balls anyway, so it only got noticable after about a year. the hydrocele wasn't as big as some guys

16

Hello All: I study all medical issues in great details as I am a scientist having published papers on electronics. Please keep one thing in mind: There is only one permanent and sure cure for Hydrocele and that is by surgery. Any other method is either temporary or a hoax. No need to worry about Hydrocele surgery. It is a straight forward procedure. Recovery in 1 month.

17

Thanks for your feedback abh. I will beg to differ on your confidence. I already had the surgery and it did not last. After a year, the problem returned. I went to an experienced Kaiser urologist using the Kaiser surgical clinic. First, within days of the surgery I came down with a terrible flu. In my weakened condition, the flu dammed near killed me by itself. Given the timing, I likely caught the bug at the surgical facility. That is, after all, a place where sick people pass through. The same would apply if I had gone to the mayo clinic. Indeed, it did take about a month to feel like a human again. Aside from the flu, that month was an experience that varied from miserable to ghastly as far as I was concerned. So now I have another guy in a white coat telling me the same thing as the first one did. Surgery will fix it all, once and done. Each time I repeat this barbaric procedure I increase my chances of an even more serious exposure to an antibiotic resistant superbug. The best to be said is the the new hydrocele now fills much more slowly than the first. I will likely get this one drained and see what happens. If it refills as slowly as this post surgical version has I can probably get by a nice long time before the next draining. Can you tell I am not a fan of doctors & medical science? :-) Superbugs themselves are a side effect of negligent dipsticks doctors passing out antibiotics like candy even to people with viral ailments that cannot possibly be helped by such meds. Doctors are also the heroes of the opiod epidemic that is ruining or ending many lives. I am sure there are more such stories that I am not aware of. As I grow older and get more and more exposure to Doctors and their treatments my dismay and disdain is soaring at what I see and experience. I do not say all this because I am a big follower of natural medicines, herbs etc. I have tried and found them to be a big waste of time over many years. Alas, doctors and medical science are often not much better IMHO. End of rant. :-)

18

Had my follow up today at the 2 week mark. He thinks approximately 60cc has returned but not sure if that could have been from the initial first few days after aspiration. Im scheduled to go back in 3 months. My options are aspiration, surgery, or aspiration with alcohol or doxycycline because those are readily available. he has done schelorotherapy on other things but not a hydrocyle.

19

Thanks for the update. So, about 15% refill in two weeks. Will look forward to the 3 month report.

20

I'm about 3/4 back to when I was aspirated. I will be looking at aspiration/sclerotherapy and will post what the dr decides..