hydrocele surgery: crazy or not?

February 20, 2007 1:36 PM

vis a vis today's mefi post: http://www.metafilter.com/58775/Proof-that-guys-think-with-their anyone out there had hydrocele surgery?

my left one's the size of a grapefruit.
ok, not quite but still WAY TOO BIG. no pain, no problems. had the mri--no tumor. but it continues to grow, is starting to get in the way and i fear that one day it may start speaking a la richard e. grant in how to get ahead in advertising.

now about today's post: does hydrocele corrective surgery destroy this brain/testes barrier i never knew about?

can anyone share any other info/experiences with this surgery?

thanks!

posted by oigocosas to health & fitness (7 comments total)

uh, guess that's blood/testes barrier.
posted by oigocosas at 1:38 PM on February 20, 2007

You might want to talk to zoinks -- he mentions his experience with a hydrocele in this cringe-inducing thread.
posted by sonofslim at 1:47 PM on February 20, 2007

Hi. I have not had the surgery, but intend to when/if I can ever spare the cash. Not urgent as I also have no pain, everything works fine, my SO is not squicked out by it - but I would prefer to not have to carry it around. I would be interested to hear others' experiences as well, including yours if you go ahead and have surgery, oigocosas. Good luck.
posted by zoinks at 3:29 PM on February 20, 2007 [1 favorite]

I've had it done. my testicle is more sensitive to twisting but it's normal sized.
posted by PowerCat at 6:51 PM on February 20, 2007

Wow, I didn't think I see a question about hydrocele surgery here. I need to have this done soon. I had a hernia operation a couple of years ago and the hydrocele happened as a consequence of this (according to my surgeon this is quite rare...) Mine hasn't been getting that much bigger but I'm getting more discomfort so I'd better get it done. I was told of two methods draining and a more invasive method that involves stripping back tissue. Does anyone have any more information on these? Which is the best option?
posted by ob at 11:22 AM on February 21, 2007

my mom sez:

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood-testis_barrier
YOu need to get that grapefruit fixed!!!! Jees Louise -- it might POP some day!!! :-)
The testicle is covered with a really tough connective tissue coat, and fixing the hydrocele won't even make a small dent in that coat -- the tunica albuginea -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunica_albuginea
Do you know about tunica vaginalis? That's where the fluid is collecting, and it is OUTSIDE of the testicle.
I have spent the last half hour looking for the right picture online, but I can't find it. I may scan something and send it to you to show how "non-invasive" that corrective surgery would be. The danger is that you will send a piece of your gut down into the scrotum -- then you might end up with emergency surgery!!
luv"

uh, thanks mom. so i guess the blood/testis barrier isnt breached.
anyone else out there with a gonadal surgery story to share?
posted by oigocosas at 4:32 PM on February 21, 2007

I'm with OB here. I had thought that hydroceles were more uncommon than this.

One of my boys was about the size of a golf ball. I couldn't play sports because my doctor wouldn't clear me in the physical. He was concerned that any trauma could render me sterile.

I had my surgery when I was in my mid-teens (15 or 16). I remember that there was some dull pain for about 5 - 7 days and some delicate walking, but no complications from the surgery or recovery.

Before recommending surgery, my doctor recommended draining it. He told me that there was about a 10% chance that it would correct the problem. It didn't -- the hydrocele 'recovered' its previous size after about a month.
posted by Jim T at 10:17 AM on February 22, 2007