Swelling 5 days after vasectomy

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The pictures on this page were taken on the 5th day following vasectomy, and sent in to our Ask The Doctor section. We don't usually show the penis in photo's, but in this instance we have done as it provides perspective in order to help visitors visualise the amount of swelling.

"These two pictures were taken on day 5 of recovery. I seem to have quite a bit of swelling, bruising, and tenderness with my bilateral vasectomy. Is this amount of bruising normal? The site of the incision (where the stitches are) is a little dark because he had to apply a small amount of silver nitrate to stop some surface bleeding after the procedure."

Dr. Karpman's reply:- These pictures 5 days after a midline vasectomy demonstrate a more than average amount of bruising that is expected after a vasectomy. There is some swelling in the scrotum. There does not appear to be any active bleeding. The bruising seems to be improving as you can see the normal color changes that occur with resolution. Usually, the blood that is trapped within the skin is broken down into the basic components of hemoglobin which will cause the color to change from purple to green to yellow before finally fading. Consultation with your vasectomy surgeon is important in any situation where the healing process is out of the norm.

Many thanks to our contributor for submitting these pictures and allowing us to use them. If you are having a vasectomy, please consider the idea of taking some pictures during your recovery for us to post, as we feel that it will help men know what is, and isn't normal. We aren't looking for just extreme bruising and swelling picture as above, but also pictures of straightforward vasectomy with normal recovery. As with the above pictures, complete anonymity is guaranteed, and for the purposes of taste and decency, photo's will be edited to be shown in a clinical context. If you are happy to participate, please visit the section index page for photographer's tips and the email address to send your pictures to.

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