Are you worried that your son’s scrotum is very swollen? Well….you’re in the right place!
In this post I’m going to teach you what this means for your son, and how someone like me can fix it for them.
All boys have a connection between the tummy cavity and the scrotum before birth. This normally closes before or shortly after birth in most boys.
When the connection stays open fluid from inside the tummy cavity can track down and collect around the testicle. This is called a communicating hydrocoele.
It is vital that a doctor examines your son carefully to ensure that the underlying testicle is normal as very rarely an abnormal testicle can actually cause fluid to collect around it.
Thankfully most communicating hydrocoeles will get better without surgery.
If your son’s hydrocoele is still present at age 3 then it is unlikely to go away and more often than not will just get bigger over time.
I perform a hydrocoele repair under general anaesthetic and it usually takes me about 20 minutes to complete. During the procedure I will tie off the connection in the groin and also release any remaining fluid from around the testicle.
All of the stitches are dissolving and under the skin and I use special skin glue to protect the wound afterwards.
There are of course small risks such as bleeding and infection that can happen in any operation and are usually straightforward to sort out. The things I worry about would be damage to the sperm tube or the blood supply to the testicle. Thankfully this only occurs in less than 1% of boys.
Following your son’s procedure, he should be able to go home the same day and be back to his normal activities within a few days.
Once the scar is well healed I would recommend rubbing in bio-oil on a daily basis and avoiding sunburn as this can really help improve the overall appearance of the scar in the long-term.
So, if your worried that your son has a hydrocoele – why not get in touch:
You can email me directly at info@mrbrianmaccormack.com
or call 028 9066 7878 to book an appointment
Until next time, take care of yourself and your family. Best wishes.