severe , persistant scrotal swelling after inguinal hernia surgery

Yes I had surgery friday and lat night and this morning my penis and the ride side of my sac was black and dark read. I though my stuff was falling off. I would like to how long this will last.

Yes, you are correct in "NO" answers to the basic question. You will have swelling in the testicle(s) usually more incident on the side of the hernia repair.  Unfortunately, this is a fact of life when the displaced intestine is restored to it's proper position. The scrotal swelling and brusing is part of the pain of repair. It is more dramatic for open surgery or mesh repair. In most cases the testicle will "eventually" resume normal size. If you could watch the procedure it would make more sense but blood and fluids will gravitate to the lowest point , (wait for it) , that would be your scrotum!!  I hope this helps. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO GET A SURGEON THAT HAS DONE THE PROCEDURE MANY TIMES (successfully) check them out first before they check you out ! So don't  just take your Primary Care/General MD or ER doctor recommendation to a surgeon. Make sure they are board certified , current in license, and referred by actual (living) patients.  Best Regards and get well.................

Saddle Up wrote:

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I just wanted to add my experiences to all the other interesting comments on post-inguinal hernia surgery. I am 68 years old and this was my first experience of a hernia. I had to wait exactly 2 months for surgery, the hernia bulge appeared on Sept. 8 and the operation just took place on Nov. 8. I experienced a fair bit of pain in the area, especially in the last 3 weeks before the operation. I am now in day 5 of recovery. About 36 hours after surgery and in the space of only 5-10 minutes my penis swelled up in bumpy patches to about 3 times its normal non-erection size. There was first a good deal of red sub-cutaneous colour and then dark purple on the underside. There was absolutely no discomfort. As my wife commented, it was "gross". Noone else seems to have mentioned this problem, only scrotal swelling. I got a bit of the latter the next day, with a black skin colouration on the bottom of the area. There was then no change for 48 hours, and urination was normal and not painful. When I awoke today, Nov. 13, the swelling had nearly completely disappeared, leaving just some red blotches on the penile shaft. The worst would appear to be behind me though of course I will carefully monitir the situation.
Has anyone else experienced severe swelling of the penis itself?

Yes I had surgery friday and lat night and this morning my penis and the ride side of my sac was black and dark read. I though my stuff was falling off. I would like to how long this will last.

Because the Penis resides with the Testicles in the Scrotum it is a low point to collect blood and fluids, this symptom is more likely to go away sooner than the testicular swelling will. Good Luck !

I had finally had hernia surgery after dealing with a hernia for quite some time.. I still don't know if I would have chose to deal with the hernia or this.. The pain after surgery was the worst pain I have ever known and literally felt like I was dyong part of the time. Getting up and down is so terrible you will almost pass out.. Don't sneeze - you will think you blew out your balls. My ball sac is extremely swollen and my balls and penis are black and blue.. there is bruising and swelling and pain in spots there should never be.. Even that piece if skin under my balls and goes to my anus hurts.. It's been 2 weeks and I am still swollen and bruised.. Will this ever end?

Surgery two weeks ago - open.  Sx site not painful, but testicle staying swollen and is hard.  How long did the swelling last for everyone?  Surgeon never mentioned any of this in post op. Not sure if I should go to ER this weekend.

i had an inguinal hernia repair, everything went well except for a feeling of very sore tender skin around the scar and groin area and its now 3weeks since the op

My husband's had double hernia surgery one week ago and the swelling is so massive that his penis has disappeared under the swelling. Is this normal?

Well, Im in the hernia club now. I had my open inguinal surgery 4 weeks ago by an experienced surgeon. He used the pro mesh combo one inside one patch outside.  The first few days were miserable as I do not do pain meds at all other than tylenol.  I can only recommend lots of ice packs(frozen peas) often no more than 15-20 min at a time.  believe me you'll want them more often.  My doc told me to walk as much as I could. I set goals each day. first day walk my hallway 3 times next day double it until I was walking my driveway(100yards) several times. I iced each time after as well. Oh I highly reccomend the local pain pump that numbs your wound for about 2 days then you pull it out. 

I also highly recommend what my doc told me to avoid the whole penis and testicle swelling issue... the first few days lie completely flat and possibly raise your mid section. as uncomfortable as this is the fluid has to go somewhere..better it be your stomach than the lowest point. Dont sit in a recliner or chair alot the fluid will settle where you dont want it.  I had no bruising or major swelling in the testicles. Not sayin that Im not tender.  I can also recommend briefs or a jock , no boxers or going commando! The less movement and support you give yourself the better.  The stitches under the skin on my waist line are a b****r and still ache. I went out and bought pants that are large for me and also got pleated front dockers for work as you wont want any restricting clothing while you sit in your car or at a desk.  I am trying to keep walking alot. The other day I walked 2 miles and felt great but i was sore the following 2 days.  Its a slow recovery guys.  I was doing good and painted my bedroom yesterday. I guess the time on the ladder stretching was too much because my right testicle is killing me off/on.  I have good days and some not so good.  Every guy i talked to at work say it will eventually subside and return to normal.  My doc say the stitches in the obliques and abs will dissolve in a few months. oh well.. just stock up on ibuprofen and tylenol.  My doc also gave me celebrex for two fold reason..one its a NSAID the other it has been found to prevent adhesion which can cause pain when your body heals and makes scar tissue that attaches to things its not suppose to like nerves etc. 

Now the big question..sex.  Yes I tried my equipment 5days after..I was worried just like everyone else but all worked it was still painful as the testicles pull up and your muscles tighten. ugh.  at 4 weeks i still get discomfort with sex but its less each time. Hey you gotta try the positions that work for you and at 4 weeks missionary aint cuttin it.  besides your still suppose to be taking it easy right???  Doggy is fine but not too much testicle slapping or else you may experience some pain latter.

This has been the toughest recovery for me, mentally.  I'm an active guy and I have been knocked down a few notches.  I know that it improves each day and i keep stretching (i can feel the stiches inside when they release ...as ill be sore for a day or two)  Guys just remember dont be in too big of hurry for normalcy. Dont lift anything over 15 pounds till week 4 or until your doc gives you the OK. I know its tough but it will be tougher if you screw things up ( you can wrinkle the mesh, tear stitches, create unwanted scar tissue all which will cause you pain for a longer time). Your family will understand why your not picking up the kids, cutting the lawn, heaving the trash, etc.  Well I ope this a positive response with so many guys in pain the first few days/weeks.  Hang in there and heal well.     

Dave, great response and experience. Thank you for posting. I am three weeks post op and had MD visit today. Swelling is down until I over do. Ridge like formation I was worried about is the spermatic cord which was pulled aside during surgery and is irritated and will eventually return to normal size. Icing and ibuprophen and allowed to get back on the Harley after week four if comfortable.

Hi guys,

I realize that a lot of people don't come back to post after they get the info they needed, but thought I'd add my two cents in case it helps anyone landing on this post at 2am when they're freaking out as well regarding recovery from left open inguinal hernia surgery.

I had my surgery last Thursdy, today is Tuesday.  Similar to a lot of guys, I've put things off, and dealt with the hernia surgery before a veracocle issue in case one solve the other, plus they wouldn't let me do a twofer on the surgery day.

If I had known how out of commission I'd be, I might have planned differently for my post op.  I came out of surgery quick and they released me from Phase I recovery.  Felt fine when I got home, alomst felt like I had vacation time since I had taken off the following Monday and Tuesday as precautions, but fully expected to be cutting my grass by Monday and catching up on work while I was out. 

Like I said the first day or two was okay.  I watched the bruise move from the incision to my abdomen, was warned about bruising to the penis and scrotum, and sort of wanted to see what it would look like (grotesque photo op).  I rested and watched movies, but also did laundry and dishes and little things to keep me busy but didn't lift anything heavy, probably moved around way too much.  By Sunday, my scrotum was baseball size and my discomfort aside from brushing the incision with shorts or underwear was the size between my legs.  I started to take rest more seriously and began applying ice packs every few hours.  Yesterday I slept a lot as well, and today I see some improvement, so plan to get back to it shortly.  Here's what worked for me, and the "it doesn't apply to me mentality of warnings" didn't apply this time.

Set an air mattress up in the family room in front of the TV

Kept phones, a book and remotes near my head

Made space for my dogs

Spaced Norco and Napro doses with attemtps to sit on the pot, (finally had success with number 2 yesterday)

Sunday night, placed one pliant ice bag, about 9 inches long under my underwear to hold in place and over my scrotum up to my penis

The other ice packet was saved for my hip, left balls and the incision on the next ice run.

I did walk my daughter to school today, light walking seems to help but going to the store with my wife Sunday was probably a mistake, and sitting for long periods hurts.

Think more than anything, the sleep helped along with the ice and staying in bed all day yesterday.  I'm by no means an in-active person when I'm supposed to rest, so don't do too much, enjoy some movies (let me know if you find any good ones).  I do notice a sharp pain when I stand up, probably the stiches taking hold.  Good luck boyos.

Part II, sorry was thinking it when I was typing but didn't include.  Two other things that probably helped reduce the swelling a lot and saw some comments along the lines of support:

1) I traded my boxers for jock straps and briefs.  My inclination when I had issues was to let it hang, not pull it in, obviously wrong.

 

2) Coupled with #1 and probably most significant as it relates to my mid terms treatment of varicocle, is support of the scrotum.  I've been folding up wash rags, lifting my sack above them and using the briefs or jock to hold it in place.  Obviously I dfon't have in place when walking around or when icing, but this is supposed to help drain fluids.

 

Good luck again.

Geez after reading for 20 minutes what all you ladies wrote I realized I am so dumb for doing so. You are all whimps writing so much detailed c**p on here that I feel I need to say something about that! First off I am 29 just had inguinal hernia no mesh, 90 min surgery, 5 days ago. I felt like sh*t after but guess what it's a mild trama surgery (I was told) so guess what??? It will hurt! I was given 30 tablets or percocet/oxycoden c**p to take throughout my recovery... I stopped that sh*t after 3 days finding online it gives constipation plus dizziness and nausea. I don't know about you ladies but for me it's not normal to NOT sh*t for more then 3-4 days! Instead I have been taking Advil extra strength gel capsules, not as effective but I'm a man unlike u so I can take a little pain. Plus i used stool softener so the sh*t can sail smoothly out of my ass no pressure on my surgery area(abdomen) required! It dosnt take a genius after all im an uneducated college drop out! Second, I was walkin by day 4 after surgery and not to washroom but as much as I could tolerate the pain then I went to rest so the next time I tried I would try to go further if u don't push yourself your body won't get use to the incisions that are there u think ur body will get use them automatically? I'm surprised u know how to log on the computer and not know simple human body functions. Thirds thing is your new giant balls.. I had them same as u ladies on day after surgery. You can relax its only fluid and a bit of swelling you did just have a mild trama surgery (so the doc told me) so there will be swelling after 3-6 weeks but drink plenty of water u don't need to load up on cranberry juice u don't have a kidney stone, instead go to wall mart and spend $6 on some tighty whities or go to the local YMCA and break into people's lockers and steal some while they swim like I did. On these postings it's rare that someone after 3 weeks surgery is posting anything on here and it's because they are laughing at your sorry asses complaining about your swelled hairy nut sack. So instead be happy they are not regular sizes which is probably cranberry size and be proud that something is at least between your legs. Be a man for once and wait it out.. We should be only hearing from people after 2-3 months surgery with swelled nut sacks. So get up and walk around, don't choke your chicken for 2 months because slapping your nuts with your hand won't make it feel better! And wait it out!! Sorry for my grammar I'm writing on my iPhone and the battery is almost dead plus it's 12am! I'm tired I spend 20 minutes reading your stories.

Hi, I had the opp 3 weeks ago.
5 inch scar that has healed nicely but still swollen.
My private parts were a dark black for 2 weeks but are now back to white again.
It feels like a lump the size of an egg swollen inside the area not protruding outside as it was before the opp.
I am told it will be 2 to 3 months before normallity.
Good luck.

I am into day 5 and just look at myself in the mirror after going shopping with my wife to get some exercise. HOLY S@#$%!!!! Every color in the universe is upon me. I am in recovery from alcoholism and am not doing any narcs. I have been fine with the Ibuprofen's and ice bags. I have been eating plenty of fresh fruit and popsicles made with real juice and fruit. This has helped the possible effects of constipation. Don't talk to friends that want to make stupid penis jokes because hit sucks to laugh. Take pictures so that you can give friends the heads up on what to expect. As you said the Dr. is used to seeing guys scrotums and penis's all multi-colorerd and swollen its just old news to him or her. Not my wife!! She about had to go to the hospital for a heart attack. I like and thank you for the idea about the towel, it works great.

Had surgery a few days ago and have been getting better daily. Just want to say thanks for this online discussion. Everyone's comments put my fears to rest today ...