Hydrocele - What you should know

BJT

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I decided after being diagnosed with a Hydrocele that I should do a quick writeup for lpsg and thunders.

What it Is
A hydrocele is a buildup of wattery fuid around the testicles. Sometimes it is just one, other times it is both. The buildup is painless and generally is not dangerous. The scrotum and/or groin will slowly swell. There are two types of hydroceles: a Congenital hydrocele develops at birth while a aquired hydrocele develops later in life. Aquired hydroceles are most common in men over 40, it occurs in 1-2% of men.


How it Happens
When the testicals migrate from the abdominal cavity to the scrotum a small piece of abdominal lining goes with the testicals. Generally this lining wears away and leaves the testicals in the scrotum, this generally closes within the first two years of life. With a hydrocele the closing of this is delayed or does not happen. If this does not close abdominal fluid slowly fills the space and causes the swelling. Aquired Hydroceles sometimes result form an injury to the groin area.

Symtoms
Some symtoms of a hydrocele are swelling, the swelling:
-is painless
-may be soft or firm
-cannot be reduced by position changes
-changes size through course of day, small in morning large at night
-translucent, light will shine through it.
If painful it is more likely a hernia and you should see a doctor right away.

Diagnosis
My urologist knew as soon as he saw my swelling that I had a hydrocele. It is generally obvious because of the swelling. Light is used to check for hernias. If light shines through it is a hydrocele, otherwise it is a hernia. I am scheduled for a followup appointment that will include an ultrasound to double check for hernias or other things.

Treatment
If the hydrocele is an aquired one it is generally taken care of with surgery to avoid the risk of a hernia. For congenital hydroceles if they do not go away within two years surgery is used.

Surgery
The surgery is a simple outpatient operation. First a genreal anesthesia is given to numb the area. Then a small incision is made in the groin on the side with the hyrdocele. The surgeon will remove the fluid from the sac and removes it. Stitches are used to strengthen the area and to prevent the hydrocele from reforming. Sometimes the other testical will be inspected as well to make sure there is nothing present. After that you are stitched up and free to go home.
After the surgery the area must be cleaned daily to avoid risk of infection. You should also watch for any swelling, fever, etc that could indicate a complication. It is also likely that a medication wil be given to help with any post-op pain that you have. My urologist says that it takes about 6 weeks to heal fully and that i should avoid strenuous activity and heavy lifting for that time if possible.

Conclusion
So thats it. If you see swelling, see the doc. I'm looking forward to having this thing removed so I don't show a bulge in everything I wear. If you have any questions ask here or pm me and I'll get back to you asap.
 

BJT

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Not sure if you would want it. One of mine is about the size of a golf ball stretched a bit in on direction and the other is about the size of a baseball. You'd be suprised how uncomfortable they can be. Actually they are the reason I don't own a single pair of jeans, they are all too tight in the crotch area
 

hung

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Thank You. This young man has done all of us a great public service. This information/knowledge is vital and I take this opportunity to salute BJT. Thank You Again.
 

BJT

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Thank you for the kind words Hung.

I just returned from the Doc office. Had a ultrasound to look for anything out of the ordinary, didn't find anything. Then had a follow-up appointment with my doc. We discussed the options. I had three options:

- Leave as is, there is a possibility of it going away.
- Drain the fluid with a syringe then inject something to cause scarring which is supposed to prevent re-accurance. This is the most painful of the options.
- Make a small incision in the groin. Drain the fluid from the effected tesiticle/s. Then make several small slits in the sac the fluid came from, not the actual scrotum the sac inside that surrounds the testicle. The are with the slits will then be stitches and attached to the back of the testicle. This is the most common, has the least pain and fastest recovery time.

I went with the third option. My operation is scheduled for early february. I'll keep you updated.
 

Freddie53

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BJT said:
I decided after being diagnosed with a Hydrocele that I should do a quick writeup for lpsg and thunders.

What it Is
A hydrocele is a buildup of wattery fuid around the testicles.

How it Happens
When the testicals migrate from the abdominal cavity to the scrotum a small piece of abdominal lining goes with the testicals.
Symtoms
Some symtoms of a hydrocele are swelling, the swelling:
-is painless
-may be soft or firm
-cannot be reduced by position changes
-changes size through course of day, small in morning large at night
-translucent, light will shine through it.
If painful it is more likely a hernia and you should see a doctor right away.

Diagnosis
My urologist knew as soon as he saw my swelling that I had a hydrocele.

Treatment
If the hydrocele is an aquired one it is generally taken care of with surgery to avoid the risk of a hernia. For congenital hydroceles if they do not go away within two years surgery is used.

Surgery
The surgery is a simple outpatient operation. First a genreal anesthesia is given to numb the area. Then a small incision is made in the groin on the side with the hyrdocele.

Conclusion
So thats it. If you see swelling, see the doc. I'm looking forward to having this thing removed so I don't show a bulge in everything I wear. If you have any questions ask here or pm me and I'll get back to you asap.

Excellent post.

I would like to see a new category that people don't post directly to with monitors to select post lke this. Find web links like this and have a real list of what the LPSG considers factual information about puberty, penis size and isssues, bi, straight and gay etc. and let it be the one site that legally minors are invited to read. No, they couldn't join or post. But it would be legal for them to be there to read. Everything listed would either be web sites or condensed reviews of reputable web sites or professional documents. No guesswork, opinions etc.

This site would basically not change much as new information or posts would have to go to a committee for review. Then that committee would recommend that this new information be posted. There would be no way for members to post to this category. They would have to go up to the appropriate existing categories to make any comments.

Teenwire and other excellent web sites have already been suggested. I mayself did a study and had a list in a post sometime back which I can find.

I will be willing to serve on that committee. I would nominate Jacinto and Jana to serve as well. Jacinto and Jana both are very knowledgable and have excellent ability to descern. Jacinto would be the ideal person to edit what Jana and I reserached. He has such abiility to consise things into short posts. He can say more in a few sentences then I can say in several paragraphs.
And I can with a little more effort produce a mistake fee document. Spell check is a wonderful thing you know. I do know how to use Word Perfect when I need to.

If you agree. Post and say agree. Maybe Rob E. would allow this new category to be developed and added.
 

hung

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Freddie 53 makes an excellent recommendation and One that I can certainly support. Excellent Idea.
 

BJT

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I think thats a great idea. If you want I could clean up, fix, and add to the original post here. I will be updating with post surgery pics, info, etc
 
D

deleted3782

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I have had a hydrocele for years. It has not increased in size. Doc said keep an eye on it, but leave it alone for now.
 

BJT

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Had my operation a few hours ago and figured I would do a little update here.

Th eoperation last a little over 1 hour and both sides were fixed. It was done under general anethisia. I am on cipro, antibiotic. Was given no pain meds which suprised me. So far the pain is very little. Its more of sore than pain. I will be icing it all day 15/15 on/off until I go to bed.

I have nothing to do today so I'll be on here a lot I think. If anyone has questions ask me.
 

dadboned39

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had a hydrocele and a spermcele on left nut when in my mid 30's it felt like someone had grasped it and was twising it, had gone in for a few check ups and finall doc told he he was going in and take a look. He found the hydrocele as well as the spermcele and took care of it under general, At that time was having foreskin problems so while doctor was in same area had a circumcision did at same time. Did find out when out of hospital and cyst removed felt like was walking on my nuts, Needed support for many weeks till it healed and yet to this day wear boxerbriefs for the support. Don
 

dickman45885

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Also had similar surgery....and gosh it was painful and swollen for a couple of days thereafter. I had good pain meds which minimized the pain. I used jojoba oil and tea tree oil to help minimize scarring and infection, and there is virtually no scar.
 

BJT

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Well this will be my 1 week post op follow up. I have an appointment tommorow for post op follow up. The pain is slowly decreasing but most of the swelling is staying. From the research I have done it looks like the swelling could last up to one month after the operations...which sucks. The incisions have remained clean and infection free and have very little discharge now. The area is still slightly sensitive to touch but not nearly what it was a few days ago. I have spent the last week laying on the couch watching movies with ice applied about half the time. I find walking painful, mostly because of the swelling but with proper support it is bearable. I MIGHT be returning to classes friday but all my classes are on the 3rd floor of buildings so I may wait until monday. I look foward to the swelling dissapering so I can see the results. If anyone has questions ask/pm or whatever.
 

whisker

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BJT, I wish you a speedy recovery. I have had my "lump" in my scrotum for years. Fluid filled sac. It just sits there unchanged and has for years. Best to leave alone as long as small (3/4" diameter) and causes no problems. whisker