Question Title: EXTREMELY Swollen Scrotum after vasectomy

I recently had a vasectomy. The day after i awoke to a swollen
scrotum. It was swollen to the size of a cantelope. Now 5 weeks
later I still have swelling and hardened blood inside that my
doctor informes me will take at least 3 or more months to dissapate.
The doctor treated it initially by waiting a few days and then
removing the single sucher and allowing the area to bleed/drain.
this lasted 3 days then closed. He then made another incision and
inserted a tube fashioned out of very flimsy-soft rubber. this came
out the next day.He informes me that this is the first time in his
30+ years of practice that this has happened to any of his patients.
I am still in constant pain and now severe itching too. I have searched
and searched for information on my condition and have found no
matches of this severity. I beg for input/assistance.

regards.

steve

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Dear Steve,

Vasectomy is a very common and safe procedure. It is highly effective at preventing pregnancy. The incidence of complications including bleeding, infection and/ persistent sperm are quite low. Estimates range from 1 to 5 %. You are unfortunately in that small percentage of patients that has had a complication. The condition you describe is called a post-vasectomy hematoma. Blood vessels surrounding the vas deferens can bleed. Since the scrotum is a very pliable sac, the accumulation of blood can be quite large(even cantaloupe size).
Since your pain has been quite severe and has not subsided with drain placement or time, it might be worthwhile to consider a trip to the operating room to try to remove the large amount of clot within your scrotal sac. Once, the blood hardens, drains are not sufficient to allow egress of the blood. Also, if the blood has dispersed into the tissues, it cannot be drained. If you elect to continue to allow resorption of the hematoma over time, the size of your scrotum will eventually go down although it may never be exactly the same size as it was prior to vasectomy/hematoma.
This information is provided for general medical education purposes only. Please consult your physician for diagnostic and treatment options pertaining to your specific medical condition. More individualized care is available at the Henry Ford Hospital and its satellites (1 800 653 6568).

HFHS MD-KR
*keyword: vasectomy, hematoma

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