severe , persistant scrotal swelling after inguinal hernia surgery

I have had hernia laparoscopy and subsequent black bruising after two days. The surgeon advised me that this would happen, and my testicles are swollen. He was not concerned, and asked me to see him in one months time. I have minimal pain - hurts to get up and walk , but control it with paracetamol. I dont take Endome (morphia derivative) as it gives bad constipation, which is a great problem with the post operative situation.It is only three days after the operation, so time will tell

I had laprascopic inguinal hernia surgery on the left side 8 days ago.  The  seeing the Dfirst coupke of days, I had some swelling on the left groin.  The swelling has gotten worse, and feels hard.  Also, I feel some numbness on the outer left thigh.  I'm seeing the doctor this morning.  Want to know if it's normal.

I too had inguinal surgery - everything is fine, looking forward to begin the running again. One question - has anyone experienced itching on the scrotum and/or inner thighs? Here is my deal: In order to support my testicles at night I was wearing boxer briefs and a pair of shorts (this is around Day 9 or 10 post-surgery). One night I began to itch and a little rash broke out on my right side (same side as my inguinal hernia), inner thigh and a little above my waistline. So, I put some lotion on the areas. The next day, there was more itching AND on the left side of my scrotum the skin was thick, leathery, moist and itchy. Not much of a rash though on my left thigh - my right side remained the same. I suppose this was due to wearing my briefs and shorts to provide support for my testicles while I slept - the sweat gave me jock itch I believe. I went to the store and bought powder (Quansana?) and Lamisil in the early morning. I washed and powdered the area and went to work. Later I came home, washed again and went bottomless for most of the night. Let things dry out. That night I put Lamisil AT on my scrotum and thighs. Next day, much, much better. I still have some itching, but the scrotum has gone down significantly and the leathery, moistness has almost disappeared. Any responses?

Another question - I would like to know more about the "large," solid mass in my scrotum on my right side where the inguinal hernia once was. I am not talking about the healing ridge. In my scrotum there is a fairly solid "block" and I cannot find my other testicle. On this site I have read many accounts of this occurring after surgery. I am not really worried about this issue. I would like to know more about Serramend and/or serratiopeptase. Also, are there alternatives to Serramend? Like juice, fruits, or vegetables that directly help break down the mass in my scrotum?

I had my right inguinal hernia operation 25 days ago . After 7-8 day post-op I also had a very swollen right testicle (almost 3 times normal size) it had a large squishy mass under it and the right ball was hard to touch and the pain was horrible I said to myself "c**p the operation was unsuccesful and the hernia is back!Damn those doctors" it was a really stressful moment for me and I can't imagine why doctors don't tell you that this happens after awhile .Next day I asked the doctor about it and he said the best thing to do is to treat it with cold stuff (ice or medicine for swelling) to break the mass (it's fluid actually which qoes down from the incision into your scrotum). So I did it and voala after 10 days of suffering it's down almost to regular size .It's really a painful procedure hernia recovery and I would strongly recommend to press a pillow on your incision when you're laughing ,getting up , sneezing , coughing or farting for that matter it'll reduce the pain and your doctors won't tell you that . Also the doctor recommended tight underwear (no boxers allowed) so that your "boys"  won't go lower than needed I'm 27 years old and this info was very crucial for me and my sex life . I read that people are asking about sex it's ok to do it two weeks after the operation IF everything is normal (it's painful though ).For the pain after the operation .... don't stay in bed that much and do not stay in a sitting position for a lot of time . I stopped my medicine 4 days after the operation (because pain meds may cause constipation and that's very bad for your recovery) and just got up and walked as much as I can it's really good for you and I saw improvement almost by the hour and now I'm back to my regular life. It still hurts when I'm in the bathroom or I sneeze ,and will hurt for quite awhile the best guess is 6 months maybe for full recovery(depending on your body and being careful with yourself). I have a left hernia operation coming up in September so now thanks to this site and my personal experience I'm prepared for it quite well  . 

I had laproscopic inguinal hernia repair 6 months ago. I caught an infection in my right testicle and had severe pain. Now I had surgery again because the hernia returned. Turns out it wasn't the same hernia .. it was a femoral hernia in same region, rare in men. They had to remove the right testicle too. My penis is completely black from bruising as is my scrotum. The scrotum is filled with fluid, which is probably blood from internal bleeding that the surgeon claims has stopped. He says it's normal ... The pain is beyond anything a person should ever have to endure ! I'm a 54 yr old male. I'm eating vicodin every couple hours and still no relief. had to get demerol shot just to sleep an hr or 2 for last night.

I had Bilateral Laparoscopic Inguinal Hernia repair with mesh.  Three total incisions.  I'm on Day 5 and the Surgery/Mesh areas are doing well.  I had a great surgeon.  I am getting up and down from a chair with very minimal pain.  On Day 2 my scrotum started to swell and bruise.   Hard lumps started to develop on the right side at the top and bottom.  The bruising and swelling increased until my scrotum is now about small grapefruit size and completely dark purple.  The lumps seemed to merge until I no longer feel my right testicle and only feel a large, hard, rectangular lump about the size of a small cellular flip phone on the right side of my scrotum.  I went back to my surgeon and he said this is fluid buildup and is normal and expected.  Everyone gets it to varying degrees.  Unfortunately, I am one of the guys that got it a little worse than others.  He said that a lump of this size could take 6-8 weeks to fully go away.  In the meantime, I should take an anti-inflammatory three times a day, ice it when I can, and try to hang in there.  At this point, this is the worst part of the surgery.   All this being said, do not let this deter you from getting the surgery.  Inguinal hernias only get worse.  They do not get better on their own.  They get worse to the point that you can end up killing part of your bowel, requiring emergency surgery and long term bad effects.  Yes, my scrotum hurts and it's uncomfortable due to it's enormous size.  I'm still happy I got the surgery.  My hernia lump and pain is gone.  Hang in there guys.  You are not alone.  For those of you on the fence for surgery, just get it.  It is much better to do it as elective surgery than emergency surgery.

I am a 60 year old male. I had laparoscopic Inguinal Hernia repair with mesh left side June 2010.  It failed and had open Inguinal Hernia repair with mesh on June 10th 2011.  Surgery was in the morning by about 6 PM my scrotum was about the size of a Grapefruit and was black and extremely painful.  Called the doctors hot line and was told that that was normal.  By midnight was even more painful and was now 18 inches around.  My Inguinal canal is swollen its whole length and quite painful.  I waited to call the doctor again until first thing Monday morning.  The doctor had me come in her first appointment in the afternoon.  She looked at it and said I needed to go to the emergency room.  By now my upper thighs, penis, lower back and abdomen were all black and blue. Someone said it looked like a truck tire had run over my midsection. 

 

I went across the street to the ER at the hospital where the surgery had been preformed.  My doctor had called ahead and they had me in a room in a few minutes.  The attending physician came in and asked what was going on.  I show him.  He took one look and just said "remarkable, I will go get you admitted".  After a CT scan, testicular ultrasound, Sonogram, blood test and urine analysis and 7 1/2 hours in the ER the doctor came back and said that the bleeding had stopped.  I said what are you going to do about it and she said nothing it will go away on its own.  I said why wouldn’t you just open the scrotum and drain the fluid to relieve the swelling and pain and her response was that she had spoken with my surgeon and another staff doctor and they all agreed that it should be left to reduce on its own.

I went back to my surgeon 3 days later who proceeds to tell me that it will reduce on its own in 6 weeks or so and that they simple wouldn’t open it up to drain it.  She tells me I need to be on full bed rest for this time which since I am self employed is an impossibility. I cannot stand or even sit in a normal chair for more than a few minutes as the pain is so intense. She suggests that I get a surgical support.  I found one at a specialty center at a local CVS no one else carried them but all they had was a large which was not biggest enough.  The lady at CVS was great and called 8 different distributers until she found an extra large for me.  After 5 weeks in her office the doctor drains off 90CC of liquid using a syringe most of which returns over night.  The next day she drains off 60CC more most of which also returns over night.

She now tells me that she thinks they need to go in and drain my scrotum and she wants to have a urologist with her as she is not sure what to do.  It’s five weeks in and even after the draining the thing is still 14” around.  I tell her I am going to get a second opinion.  I didn’t tell what I was really thinking.

I got the names of a couple of surgeons from my Urologist and made an appointment.  When the surgeon looks at me she says well this thing should have been opened and drained and a drain put in it immediately after I went to the ER.  She suggests surgery and performs it the following Thursday.  Things go OK but the drain will not stay unclogged It is filling with clots so back to surgery the following Thursday to put in the biggest drain she can.  She tells me that the blood clot in my scrotum had actually been encapsulated and that it would probably never have gone away on its own.  She also tells me that because it was left unattended for so long the skin on my scrotum is now as thick as the sole of a shoe and it will takes weeks or months to return to normal.  If the first surgeon had drained it right away my recovery probably would have been a few weeks now at 8 weeks I still have at least 6 to go.

That was 2 weeks ago and the scrotum is now less than 12 inches around and going down a tiny bit at a time.  It is hard as a rock on the left side but has started to return to normal on the right.  I have graduated down to the large scrotal support.  The Inguinal canal is still quite hard and swollen but only the lower part maybe half the distance it was.  I have much more confidence in my new surgeon and think I am finally on the right track.  After 9 weeks of not being able to leave the house except to go to the doctor or hospital and not being able to drive I am going crazy.  The doctor says that I can drive myself to the next appointment and that as I can tolerate the pain I can get up and do stuff and even leave the house.

cgt1z-

Thanks for the reply. I actually got good news from the doctor today. I can now go swimming and drive again. She said that everything looks really good and as I can tolerate I am free to be as active as I want. The swelling makes walking difficult but she thinks I will see a steady decrease now and I am much more confident today that the worst has past.



Good luck with your recovery.

Thanks for the reply. I actually got good news from the doctor today. I can now go swimming and drive again. She said that everything looks really good and as I can tolerate I am free to be as active as I want. The swelling makes walking difficult but she thinks I will see a steady decrease now and I am much more confident today that the worst has past.



Good luck with your recovery.

I have triple hernia surgery about a year ago, I was doing great, then about a week ago I was lifting some plants nothing heavy and next day by balls feel like someone lightly kicked them with nausia.   oddly that is how I felt post operation, did I strain myself or tear?  I have both a cork and mesh on the belly button and both sides but all seems okay there so ?

I just had(1/11/12)a left side Inguinal Hernia open surgery with 4" vertical incision that grew into my scrotem witch resulted in some stretched skin,so now tht the henia is fix a couple of days after the fluid filled it right back up and my Doctor(Dr. Sumet who has said to invent the technique call double mesh)said it could take up to 6 months for the fluid to resede and 2-3 months for all the sweiling to go away.

I had the same questions after some of the pain subsided and I finally stopped goiing to the bathroom every ten minutes,but there was still so much sweling ,so I got another opinion before my 2week follow up by a doctor(DR. Jacoob) in the same practice bcuz my surgeon was out of town,so I ask should he do a xray or ultrasound because I thought I had broke threw or had another heria because like the other guy said I could move mine back up when i squeeze my thighs against it so I wanted to know why my testicle was so large and why I felt so much extra stuff in my scrotem sack ,but he said its all just sweling and the intestine has to be pulled away from the sperm sack and that makes it swell, he also said that my testicle might get smaller because of the mesh cutting some blood flow from my left testicle,but it wouldnt hurt it and it will be fine.I also asked him about my fever and he said its normal after surgery as long as it doesn"t go over 100*by mouth and 101* rectally.

 Tip:Ice packs before bed for about 30 mins will speed up healing.

This link is My Doc showing his open surgery vids and some info about heria recovery.

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HOPE I HELPED

Can not anyone tell me why my hernia surgery 6 months ago seemed a success and now it feels like my scrotum has been kicked when ever I sit for long periods of time or lift anything, and I mean anything.  Not the belly button mesh but the right and left inguinal hernias are slightly puffy, more importantly I notice, I feel them as before they were as benign as say my knee.  I had both cork and mesh put in all three hernias  Is this discomfort normal as I get more active due to mesh separating from old scare tissue, in other words a sort of honey moon period back in to the life of moving, or is this a red flag?

Yes I'm 4 days into it and it hurts like hell. I hope everything was done correctly But pretty much I replied because for some reason I laughed a little bit because you wrote your girlfriend was stepping on you. Sorry it just sounded funny