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Testicle problems
I think I have suffered from torsion several years ago, and since then my testicle has become detached from the muscle that rises and lowers it, and subsequently it sits at the bottom of my scrotum and when i pull my abdominal muscles it doesent move, i can still feel testicle appendage going to it from my inguinal canal. I think it has atrophied a little bit since then although i cant be sure as as it is roughly the same size. I have some questions regarding this, Is it possible for a testicle to die and remain in the scrotum with very little or no apparent change in size. is there any medical condition that can cause the muscle to snap or tear and leave the apendage connected or is it more reasonable to assume that the testicle died and as a result the dead tissue snapped, if the testicle was dead would the appendage be dead too and would it show up on a sonogram?
I ask about the sonogram as I visited a major hospital yesterday and got a sonogram, although she said i was fine i have some problems with her method, firstly the sonogram was very quick, a few minutes it took, and also she didnt appear to actually scan the testicles, just the cords above, I didnt look but that is where i felt the pressure of the device and that is where the gel was mostly. and thirdly as i left i briefly looked at the machine and i only saw grayscale images, are grayscale images enough to evaluate blood flow?
I couldent actually show the doctor how far the testicle hangs and how it is detached as i was stressed about the whole thing and as a result my scrotum was fairly tight due to contraction of the dartos fibre.
Have i had poor treatment? Could they have missed it?
I ask about the sonogram as I visited a major hospital yesterday and got a sonogram, although she said i was fine i have some problems with her method, firstly the sonogram was very quick, a few minutes it took, and also she didnt appear to actually scan the testicles, just the cords above, I didnt look but that is where i felt the pressure of the device and that is where the gel was mostly. and thirdly as i left i briefly looked at the machine and i only saw grayscale images, are grayscale images enough to evaluate blood flow?
I couldent actually show the doctor how far the testicle hangs and how it is detached as i was stressed about the whole thing and as a result my scrotum was fairly tight due to contraction of the dartos fibre.
Have i had poor treatment? Could they have missed it?
by the by, the cremaster muscle which lifts the teste is part of the spermatic cord, from looking at the diagram of this on wikipedia it seems very hard to see how this muscle could be torn leading to complete loss of testicle movement and for the rest of the contents of the spermatic cord to remain intact, ie the arteris and vas deferens etc. Therefore it is logical to assume that they did suffer trauma too unless there is some medical condition that can cause this or I'm misunderstanding the way muscles can tear or break. I am very concerned now please help me to understand.
Well I remember the episode barely but I do remember alot of pain in the testical and remember it looking out of shape, and at some point after I remember feeling that the testicle had detached, this was 7 years ago now so I'm not clear on the timeline of what happened but I never got it checked out, until now, the testicle has almost felt dead to me and generaly doesent act like a normal testicle, I also get refered discomfort from it to the scrotum sac in which it leans on, I decided to go get it checked out yesterday when I went to the hospital.
It was a very tough thing to go through, showing my nuts to various people, the first person I saw was a sexual health doctor, so I'm guessing he was a urologist. He did not check very thoroughly and seemed to dismiss me when I asked about torsion, he felt my testicals briefly and then he thought there was nothing wrong, I was suprised at this as its pretty clear to me something is wrong with my testicle, (Normally, they dont sit on the bottom of your scrotum like orange segment year round with no response to temperature or manual muscle contraction). He seemed arrogant, almost like he didn't want to hear my theories on the matter and dismissed them. I asked for a hormone blood test and he said they dont offer that service which I also found hard to believe as most of the patients who go into that ward are there for STD's ( its a walk in non appointment center). He said he would get me an "x-ray" anyway to rule out tumours as "I seemed worried", by x-ray he meant sonogram ofcourse. So I think "well this guy doesent seem to care but the sonogram should show something", and as you know I was given the all clear after a 2 minute sonogram in which the nurse barely if at all went lower than the spermatic cord, I dont believe she scanned the testicles at all, only the structures above the testicles. I think she may have missed an infarcted testicle by scanning the cord and not the testicles. This is why I'm interested in the events of organ failure, Ive always believed the testicle was dead but someone I talked to said to me the testicle should of rotted and atrophied to a realy small size by now and it gets absorbed into the body via the blood stream, he also sais that scar tissue is formed and it should be hard, how true are these claims? my testicle doesent have any sensation and is not attached to any muscles in my scrotum but it is still in the normal size range of a testicle and it's firmness is still in the normal range as demonstrated by the doctor feeling it and not knowing anything was wrong. Could that be an indication that it is getting blood supply but there may be some ligament damage with it, is that possible? or does none of this mean anything at all?
One other thing, Lets assume the testicle is dead which I think is likely, would the spermatic cord be still getting blood flow, this would correlate with the nurse telling me it was ok but her not actualy scanning the teste.
Sorry if this is a bit convoluted, I know I'm asking some pretty non standard wierd question here but I'm trying to understand the mechanics of the whole thing because I think they have made a mistake.
It was a very tough thing to go through, showing my nuts to various people, the first person I saw was a sexual health doctor, so I'm guessing he was a urologist. He did not check very thoroughly and seemed to dismiss me when I asked about torsion, he felt my testicals briefly and then he thought there was nothing wrong, I was suprised at this as its pretty clear to me something is wrong with my testicle, (Normally, they dont sit on the bottom of your scrotum like orange segment year round with no response to temperature or manual muscle contraction). He seemed arrogant, almost like he didn't want to hear my theories on the matter and dismissed them. I asked for a hormone blood test and he said they dont offer that service which I also found hard to believe as most of the patients who go into that ward are there for STD's ( its a walk in non appointment center). He said he would get me an "x-ray" anyway to rule out tumours as "I seemed worried", by x-ray he meant sonogram ofcourse. So I think "well this guy doesent seem to care but the sonogram should show something", and as you know I was given the all clear after a 2 minute sonogram in which the nurse barely if at all went lower than the spermatic cord, I dont believe she scanned the testicles at all, only the structures above the testicles. I think she may have missed an infarcted testicle by scanning the cord and not the testicles. This is why I'm interested in the events of organ failure, Ive always believed the testicle was dead but someone I talked to said to me the testicle should of rotted and atrophied to a realy small size by now and it gets absorbed into the body via the blood stream, he also sais that scar tissue is formed and it should be hard, how true are these claims? my testicle doesent have any sensation and is not attached to any muscles in my scrotum but it is still in the normal size range of a testicle and it's firmness is still in the normal range as demonstrated by the doctor feeling it and not knowing anything was wrong. Could that be an indication that it is getting blood supply but there may be some ligament damage with it, is that possible? or does none of this mean anything at all?
One other thing, Lets assume the testicle is dead which I think is likely, would the spermatic cord be still getting blood flow, this would correlate with the nurse telling me it was ok but her not actualy scanning the teste.
Sorry if this is a bit convoluted, I know I'm asking some pretty non standard wierd question here but I'm trying to understand the mechanics of the whole thing because I think they have made a mistake.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi
At this point, I would say that testicular atrophy brought about by hormonal imbalance or any alteration ( eg decrease) in blood supply secondary to trauma or vascular problems may be noted in the ultrasound. In your case, you have mentioned of testicular "death" due to a previous history of testicular torsion. If immediate intervention was done to correct the torsion, I would say that the testicles most probably has "recovered". The blood supply, hormonal levels ( sex hormones) and also innervation are necessary in keeping the tissues "alive". Cells in tissues require oxygen and other nutrients provided by the blood. The nerves also provide proper tissue response to lack or loss of oxygen and nutrients which send signals to other parts of the body to compensate for the loss.
You may have a second opinion regarding this if the discomfort persists. A self testicular examination will also be necessary.
At this point, I would say that testicular atrophy brought about by hormonal imbalance or any alteration ( eg decrease) in blood supply secondary to trauma or vascular problems may be noted in the ultrasound. In your case, you have mentioned of testicular "death" due to a previous history of testicular torsion. If immediate intervention was done to correct the torsion, I would say that the testicles most probably has "recovered". The blood supply, hormonal levels ( sex hormones) and also innervation are necessary in keeping the tissues "alive". Cells in tissues require oxygen and other nutrients provided by the blood. The nerves also provide proper tissue response to lack or loss of oxygen and nutrients which send signals to other parts of the body to compensate for the loss.
You may have a second opinion regarding this if the discomfort persists. A self testicular examination will also be necessary.
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