I'm now into my 9th week post op, and the usual post op swelling has resolved. However I have had pain and swelling, consistently worse than before, at the left testicle, since the op. As if ED wasn't bad enough, I am very reluctant to let my partner anywhere near the tender area.
Last week, at post op follow up, it was a challenge to get my consultant to take the matter seriously. Eventually he gave 'You have had testicular surgery in the past and there is some scarring, you have cysts on your epididymis and the surgery may have affected this, wear supportive underwear' He had noted I was already doing this, but it took another 3 restatements by me of the effect it was having on my sleep patterns, sitting and walking, return to work, sex life etc before he suggested I could have the epididymis removed surgically. He will refer me back to me GP and the GP will then refer to a Urologist here in Wales since the prostate consultant seems to feel he has done his bit.
Now I understand that many men of prostate cancer age have epididymal cysts. If they are not very active, it may be that wearing supportive underwear is sufficient. I also understand that inflammation of the epididymis is regularly noted after prostatectomy and may be managed with antibiotics - and supportive underwear! I can also surmise that the oft quoted ' after surgery your sperm have nowhere to go so die and are reabsorbed' probably means the sperm hit the roadworks along the vas deferens, which is now a dead end, and back up causing swelling. I guess the body readjusts and shuts down sperm/ fluid production at the testicle.
So I have 2 main questions
1. After the prostatectomy and initial recovery, did anyone else have a new pain, specifically testicular and vas deferens ( where the front of the groin joins the scrotum)? What happens and how was it managed?
2. Did anyone have an epididymectomy ( removal of th epididymis) because of this pain. Did it work?