When patients experience severe testicular pain, immediate medical intervention is imperative. Most often this pain stems from testicular torsion – which requires immediate surgical intervention to unlay and restore blood flow to untorsioned testicles – though testicle pain may also signal developing epididymitis or hernia conditions.<\/p>\n
Testicular torsion occurs when the spermatic cord that supplies your testicle with blood becomes twisted, cutting off its blood supply and killing it within minutes. This condition should be considered a medical emergency, so immediate treatment dramatically increases your odds of saving the testicle. Your PromiseCare provider will conduct a physical exam and obtain your complete medical history before using imaging techniques such as scrotal ultrasound imaging to assess severity and pinpoint pain source.<\/p>\n
Medication is an integral component of treatment, and your PromiseCare provider will prescribe a medication regimen designed to manage discomfort while preventing long-term damage or loss of the affected testicle. Preparing for your appointment by taking some simple steps such as writing down symptoms (start date\/duration etc) can make you more empowered during recovery process. Keeping track of when symptoms started can also help.<\/p>\n
Painful testicular torsion cannot always be diagnosed through medical exams alone, but healthcare providers can examine your scrotum and groin, inquire about other symptoms you are experiencing, order imaging tests to check blood flow problems in both testicles and scrotum and perform emergency surgery on you to untwist the spermatic cord, restore blood supply to both testicles and save the testicle as soon as you notice pain to prevent lasting damage resulting in infertility or permanent loss of one or both testicles being permanently lost or destroyed forever. Urologists must perform emergency surgery within hours after first experiencing pain to ensure optimum success of recovery with no lasting lasting damage lasting beyond just permanent loss of one testicle or infertility being possible for these situations to ensure lasting damage prevention or permanent loss or irreparability occurring; otherwise permanent loss would occur and infertility or permanently loss would result.<\/p>\n
Testicles (commonly referred to as the “testes”) rest in a pouch called the scrotum, located below the penis. They get their blood supply through a cord called the spermatic cord that runs from abdomen to scrotum and contains vas deferens for transporting sperm from vas deferens into vas deferens of urethra. Testicular torsion occurs when this cord twists around its own shaft, cutting off its blood supply; symptoms include sudden severe pain with swelling on one side of scrotum.<\/p>\n
Testicular torsion occurs when the spermatic cord, which supports testicles in the scrotum, twists in an unexpected fashion and cuts off blood flow to an affected testicle, potentially leading to its death and permanent damage. As an emergency situation requiring immediate medical intervention and prompt treatment to avoid permanent harm and possible infertility issues.<\/p>\n
Urologists specialize in treating urinary tract and reproductive organs and can detect testicular torsion by looking at your symptoms and performing a physical exam. They will inspect the scrotal area for signs of swelling, tenderness, redness or blood flow through the spermatic cord; an ultrasound of your scrotum may also be performed to check this for you. If they see no evidence of torsion within six hours and pain subsides as expected they could likely rule it out as epididymitis or other conditions causing discomfort in your groin.<\/p>\n
But if the pain is sudden and severe, consider it an emergency and visit an ER\/Urgent care right away. This is particularly relevant if the discomfort occurs while sleeping, lying down or active; one-sided pain could indicate that the spermatic cord has become twisted and blocked blood flow to your testicle.<\/p>\n
Healthcare providers typically employ cold packs, ice or commercial packs wrapped in cloth to treat pain. Over-the-counter pain relievers such as Ibuprofen may also help reduce swelling and provide pain relief. Your doctor will ask you to lie on your back with knees bent slightly in order to reduce pressure on the spermatic cord and help it untwist more freely. Dr. McEvoy will also conduct an examination of your scrotum and rectum for other conditions that need to be treated simultaneously with testicular torsion, such as bladder infection or epididymitis. They may perform urine analysis and blood tests to check your sperm count – since death of one testicle can lower it and make fathering biological children difficult in future.<\/p>\n