Last updated on January 2, 2021
Question:
Hey Jeff,
Is this normal? When I was younger I had a surgery because one of my testicles was stuck outside the scrotum, at least that’s what I remember it was for. Now that one testicle is somehow grown together to the scrotum because I had stitches there. I’ve also discovered, that it’s bigger than my other testicle. I’ve never compared it before. Could any of this be a problem? I don’t experience any pain or anything, it’s just bigger and connected to the scrotum, which is sometimes limiting because it doesn’t move.
I just don’t get it, why would they let it be in that state when I was younger?
When I visited my doctor for a regular check a year ago, she asked me to show her if I can pull my foreskin down and to see if everything is okay because it was some time after the surgery. I refused because it was so unexpected and embarrassing because my mum was there. If I could, I would ask a different doctor for a check, but I just know he would eventually tell my mum that I was there and that would be embarrassing.
I’m slowly working on stretching my foreskin to be able to pull it down. It was while doing it that I discovered this weird thing. I’ve tried to find something on the Internet but didn’t find anything related to this.
Thank you.
Answer:
What you had was an undescended testicle. It is fairly common in boys born prematurely, but rare in full-term babies. The reason is that before you are born, your testicles form inside you and then shortly before birth slide down into the scrotum. The opening they descend through then gets smaller, preventing them from going back up into your groin. Something went wrong with this process in your body and so surgery was down to bring the testicle down into the scrotum and make the opening into groin smaller so it would not go back up.
Normally a testicle in the scrotum forms fibers to the scrotum. Those fibers tend to keep the testicle from twisting, which could pinch the blood supply to the testicle off, causing extreme pain and if not fix quickly, it can cause the testicle to die. I’m assuming that the surgeon put some stitches in to keep your testicle from twisting and perhaps he got the stitches too tight. If it bothers you, it is something you can ask your doctor or an urologist about.
It is normal for one testicle in a guy to be slightly bigger than the other testicle.
Since you had an undescended testicle, you should also check your testicles every month for signs of cancer. Testicular cancer is very rare, but it is more likely to show up in males who had an undescended testicle. Even though it is embarrassing, you need to let your doctor check your genitals for problems. You can always ask that your mother steps out of the room.
Keep stretching your foreskin as often as you can do it every day, and pull to the limits where it just gets uncomfortable. Eventually, you’ll get everything working the way it should.