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Hernia Repair - Discouraged - Need Advice

Since having hernia repair 1.5 years ago, my right testicle cord exits my abdomen going into my scrotum lower than it did before. This causes the right testicle to hang much lower and further back than my left one.

I am not in pain, and everything seems to be working fine. The surgery did resolve my hernia and relieve the pain that I was in. I am thankful for that. Even so everyday I regret having the hernia repair surgery. I am discouraged, feel humiliated.  

I brought this up to my surgeon just before he released me, and his exact words were, “We’re not going to worry about that.” What did he mean? Would it get better by itself? Should I just accept it? It doesn't matter? What? He didn’t want to talk about it.

I am unhappy. When the weather is warm my right testicle hangs MUCH lower. I feel disfigured. Clearly the cord is not in the same position that it was before. Before my testicles were perfectly symmetrical.

What should I do? I was thinking that I should go see my GP and just explain, show her the problem and see what she says. At this point I would be willing to go back to surgery to correct the problem.

I would really like to hear from a doctor on this if any of you read this post. Thanks.
Best Answer
Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello and hope you are doing well.

Understand how you feel, but  sometimes you could be facing more risks with a correction. Any surgery carries with it its risks, like there could be increased bleeding due to fibrosis from prior surgery. There are also chances of an infection. You could first discuss the correction options with your GP and then proceed from there. Good Luck.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.
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Avatar universal
Thank you!  
People have said that it is normal for one testicle to be lower than the other, but it still bothers me because it wasn't like this before.
Also, I cannot help but feel some distrust with the doctor. He talked about cutting into my abdomen, but never said anything about changes to my testicles. If you could examine me you would see that this is clearly a result of the surgery. If he had explained this to me before hand, I might feel better about it.
So the question for me remains whether or not anything can be done about it. I suspect that a corrective surgery would not be worth the risk, but I would still like to know if I have any options.
Should I try to schedule an appointment with the surgeon (he released me from his care) or should I schedule an exam with my GP?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello and hope you are doing well.

Mild asymmetry of body structures is normal and natural. One testis being lower than the other is normal. Unless there is a difference in size, you need not worry. But you can discuss the options with your surgeon.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
After doing a lot of research I found out that there is something called testicular ptosis. It refers to the drooping of the testicle or the testicle hanging lower than it should. I also learned that this is a common COMMON! complication of hernia repair surgery.

So, the question is why did my surgeon not tell me about this common side effect? Why is it that no doctor I've spoken with will say these words to me? Seriously?!

Also, the hernia repair surgery is much more complicated than I was lead to believe. I thought the surgeon was putting the bowel back into place and patching the hole, but it turns out it involves the dissection and separation of canals and cords. They rearranged my insides! It's disappointing and makes me feel distrustful of my doctor.

What I really want to know now is can testicular ptosis be repaired? What would be involved with that? And, is the risk too great to attempt it?

Anyone?
Helpful - 0
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