Scrotal hematoma: Definition, causes and treatment options

A scrotal hematoma is a collection of blood inside the scrotum. It occurs when bleeding fails to stop after a vasectomy, or when bleeding resumes at some point after the operation due to trauma or other conditions. Hematomas may also develop after a vasectomy reversal.

Scrotal hematomas occur in approximately 2% of vasectomies.1 A hematoma is a serious complication that can be very unpleasant, but it will rarely cause long-term damage.

Symptoms of a scrotal hematoma

Scrotal hematomas typically occur shortly after the vasectomy procedure. They are often accompanied by swelling, bruising, and pain.

The symptoms are dependent on the location, size, and cause of the hematoma, so it’s possible to develop a hematoma without showing all symptoms. A small hematoma may cause minimal swelling and discomfort, while a larger hematoma could result in extensive bruising and pain.

Scrotal hematomas vary in size. They may be so small they aren’t even noticeable, or so large they feel like a third testicle. The reason for this is that the loose skin of the scrotum can expand greatly and may not immediately provide the pressure necessary to stop the bleeding. In these scenarios, the hematoma won’t stop growing until it becomes big enough to apply pressure to the source of the bleeding, or a spontaneous clot appears.

A hematoma will generally feel like a lump or growth in the scrotum. This hematoma mass will eventually harden as the blood-forming the hematoma clots.

Treating a scrotal hematoma

Hematomas usually resolve on their own. In most cases, the hematoma will go away with a couple of weeks, but larger hematomas can take longer to dissolve. The clotted mass of blood that makes up the hematoma will slowly be absorbed into the body, so all you can really do is wait. Pain, bruising, and swelling may last for a similar amount of time, although these symptoms usually diminish as the hematoma shrinks and breaks up.

Your doctor may recommend hot baths, ibuprofen, and tight elevating undergarments as ways to alleviate discomfort and speed recovery. In extreme cases, surgical intervention may be necessary, but this is usually regarded as a last resort.

Avoiding a post-vasectomy hematoma

While it’s impossible to completely eliminate the risk developing of a hematoma after your vasectomy, there are steps you can take to minimize the odds it’ll happen to you

Have a urologist perform the procedure

While your general practitioner may be capable of performing your vasectomy, it’s generally best and strongly recommended to find a urologist to do the job. Urologists typically have much more experience in providing vasectomy services, and experience is a significant factor in predicting the likelihood of complications after a vasectomy.

Find an experienced doctor

In general, the more vasectomy operations a doctor has performed, the lower the chance of hematoma. One study found that “the incidence of hematoma was 4.6% for physicians performing 1–10 vasectomies annually, 2.4% for those performing 11–50 annually, and 1.6% for those performing more than 50 annually.”2

Do your research and find out how many procedures the doctor performs in a year. This may be on the doctor’s website, but it’s also something you can ask about during your initial consultation.

This doesn’t mean that a doctor who has done fewer vasectomies isn’t competent to perform your operation. The incidence of hematoma is minimal regardless of the number of procedures a doctor has performed, but statistically speaking, you’ll have better luck with a more experienced doctor.

Look into a no-scalpel vasectomy

The no-scalpel vasectomy method offers a number of benefits over the traditional technique, and one of those benefits is a lower risk of developing a post-vasectomy hematoma. A scalpel-free vasectomy uses sharp forceps to puncture the skin and doesn’t involve any cutting. With the no-scalpel method, there’s a lower chance of nicking a blood vessel, which means a lower risk for hematomas. Both procedures are currently standard of care, and a traditional scalpel vasectomy is also a great option if your surgeon prefers to perform it that way.

Summary

Scrotal hematoma is rare, but a known complication of a vasectomy. A smaller hematoma may cause minor discomfort, while a large hematoma could result in severe bruising and pain.

You need to see your doctor as soon as possible if you suspect you have a hematoma. While a scrotal hematoma is usually not a serious issue, it could require special treatment or be related to another problem.

References and further reading Vasectomy-Information.com has a strict sourcing policy. We rely on evidence-based medicine, peer-reviewed studies, reputable clinical journals, and medical associations. Learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and up-to-date by reading our editorial policy.
  1. Cook L, Pun A, Gallo M, Lopez L, Van V. Scalpel versus no-scalpel incision for vasectomy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014;(3):CD004112. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004112.pub4
  2. Schwingl PJ, Guess HA. Safety and effectiveness of vasectomy. Fertility and Sterility. Published online May 2000:923-936. doi:10.1016/s0015-0282(00)00482-9
  3. O’Leary B. Scrotal haematoma following vasectomy: an unusual surgical emergency. BMJ Case Rep. 2014;2014. doi:10.1136/bcr-2013-202421
  4. Risk of Bleeding After Vasectomy. A Personal Choice. https://www.bestvasectomy.com/risk-of-bleeding-after-vasectomy/
Read the comments (200)

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Aaron Wiegmann, MD

Review date

May 16, 2021

Authored by

Vasectomy-Information.com content team

Last updated

July 7, 2020

Comments (200)

Leave a comment

Please note that the comment section is not moderated or reviewed by doctors, and you should not rely on advice or opinions given by other visitors. Always speak to your doctor before acting. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately.

  1. Had a VS two weeks ago, developed a hematoma immediately after surgery and the pain was unbearable. The pain now comes and goes but like everyone else’s post and experience with hematomas it takes time. My right nut is about tennis ball size and I’ve been lightly working out but that seemed to cause a little pain so I’ll be taking it easy for the next few weeks.

    Reply
  2. I feel the need to give this page a bump. Got my vasectomy last Friday, things were swollen but nothing way out of the ordinary the first couple days.

    Then Thursday afternoon/night my right nut started swelling up and the discomfort was increasing and my D started turning blue.

    Sore legs, but mines not nearly as bad as some of your alls instances on here.

    I had more serious nut issues 19 years ago so I knew it wasn’t a torsion. I suspected it was a hematoma and I went to the urologist today and he confirmed it.

    It’s a little better today than it was yesterday so I know I’m on the tail end of the worst. Appreciate all the stories

    Reply
  3. Hi all,
    Just past my one week mark from my vasectomy, here’s what’s been like for me – the procedure itself was a breeze (even dozed off for a few minutes), but my legs coming back from the anesthesia (from the waist down) was quite an experience.
    For the following four days I had what looked like migraine or a heavy cold – massive headache, foggy brain, blocked nostrils, sore throat, only felt like laying down. May be due to the anesthesia or the stress of the operation, but who knows.
    Couple of days after this subsided (i.e. yesterday), I found a palpable mass above my left testicle which I can only describe as a third testicle – size, texture, etc., but it does feel connected to the left guy. As for coloring, since a couple of days ago I have a case of blue balls (literally). I’m guessing this is loose blood within my sack.
    Speaking of which, the doctor told me I could get back to sex “once it felt right”, so I’ve had action three, four and six days after – I’m fearing this might have triggered the third testicle. The size seems fairly stable since yesterday but the area has gone from painless to mild discomfort when I move, and a sharp pain every now and then.
    Both the size and the pain seem to improve if I lay down, so this looks like a hematoma or, less likely, a sperm granuloma.
    Like many of you, I wish I had been informed of possible complications; I was constantly reassured that there wouldn’t be any unless the cuts got infected, and never was I told of all the possible (and varied) outcomes that you have described.
    I’m due to see the urologist later today. I’ll try and post an update in a few days.

    Reply
  4. Just thought I’d post just after passing my 2 year vasectomy anniversary. This page helped me a lot a hope this will helps others get through it too. I had a hematoma the size of a grapefruit like a lot of you others. It sucked a lot but I can tell you it will get better. My pain lasted longer than I would have liked, like 3 months of being super uncomfortable and another 6 months of tolerable but slowly decreasing pain. At the nine month mark, still a bit of discomfort here and there but I felt pretty decent so went mountain biking (first real exercise) and crashed pretty good, racking myself. To be honest haven’t felt a bit of pain since. Not recommending it but want to give someone out there the hope that it does get better. I thought FOR SURE it wasn’t going to get better and I would be dealing with it or some sort of discomfort forever. But it resolved itself. Also another piece of advice, don’t go in and have it drained, worked on, or whatever. I never did so i don’t know what would have happen if i did but I have not heard one good story. My doc specifically said DO NOT go in if this happens, glad I listened. Your body will take care of itself, unfortunately very slowly. Good luck, it will get better.

    Reply
    • Jamison, this helps a lot, I appreciate your post. I’m two weeks in and dealing with a hematoma. It sucks, and sounds like time is the only cure. Well here is to a long year of recovery.

      Reply
  5. 3 weeks ago I walked out of the vasectomy clinic and did not even make it home before I was hurting and swelling beyond belief. Ended up totally black down there with 2 grapefruits… literally grapefruit-size. Horrible pain and bedridden basically for 2 weeks. For the last week, black blood has been draining from the incision on the left testicle. The pressure built up until it blew out the stitches. The right testicle is back to normal. I can walk quite a bit better now but still pain and the color is getting better. I cannot tell you how much this page got me through this! Really fortunate to have found it. Thanks!

    Reply
  6. I got mine done on Friday, Feb 28, and stayed in bed all weekend and came to work on Monday feeling sore but ok. I woke up Tuesday with my left testicle looking like a black orange. Y’all know the deal. I’m 11 days in and don’t know how long this will last, but here is what I found that helps.

    • A long hot bath every day
    • Motrin every 6 hours
    • Baby powder
    • Wearing a jockstrap over boxer briefs
    • Hot and cold therapy regularly
    • Propping feet up
    • Also, my doctor prescribed an anti-inflammatory steroid

    I hope this helps fellas.

    Reply
  7. Was anybody still in a lot of pain at 9 months post hematoma? I had bad bleeding after my vasectomy, and my hematoma mass/lump was very large initially (5x5x5cm) and has very slowly resorbed down to 1x1x1 cm after 9 months, but I still have a lot of hematoma pain when standing. And my legs ache and hurt whenever I stand so they think it may be nerve pain… it feels like the pain radiates down my legs so maybe the mass has pinched a nerve in scrotum?

    Various doctors have talked about removing the mass or a “de-nervation” procedure to cut the nerve to the testicle, but nobody seems to know or have confidence as to what the best move is given my leg pain to go along with scrotal/hematoma pain. I’m desperate for help but waiting it out for now.

    Reply
    • I still have a lump left after 6 months, not sure if it is getting smaller, also about 1x1x1 cm. The doctor wasn’t all that sure if it was hematoma or scar tissue inside epididymis. I have it at the bottom of my testicle.

      Reply
      • R – are you still in a lot of pain from that 1x1x1 lump you have? Mine is very painful all the time and keeps me from standing with leg pain, but perhaps it’s stuck to a nerve.

        Did your Doctor say to let it go at this point, or what did he recommend with the lump left? Just curious if your lump is still causing a lot of pain and getting in the way of your day to day activities.

        Reply
    • Hi Trey, not a lot of pain, but it gives a burning sensation. The doctor can’t tell for sure whether it is a hematoma, blood clot (what he thought at first), or scar tissue within the epididymis (what he thought later). He said he couldn’t/won’t do anything about it because operating would eventually/probably create more irreversible damage. He told me last January to wait it out and see how it develops. I think it didn’t get smaller, though… I just want an ultrasound to confirm what it is. Did you have an ultrasound to confirm it is a hematoma? It is causing some pain/gets in the way.

      Reply
      • I have had 3 ultrasounds to measure the mass and make sure it is getting smaller. I’ve done them every 3 months starting last August 2019 and most recently in Feb 2020. They call it a “hematoma Mass” on the ultrasound report, and it is resorbing and getting smaller, although very slowly. It’s gone from:

        5x5x5cm in June 19
        3.5×3.5×3.5cm in Aug 19
        2x2x2 cm in Nov 19
        1.4×1.3×1.3 cm in Feb 20.

        But the pain and ability to stand has not improved one bit as it’s getting smaller, so there must be a lot of scar tissue as well. Pain shoots down my legs from the scrotum when I stand. My docs have also expressed fear of causing more damage by removing the mass with surgery.

        I would get a 2nd opinion or ask for an ultrasound from a trusted Urologist. Good luck! Keep up the hope.

        Reply
        • Thanks for the feedback. Never had any ultrasound after reversal, planning on getting one. When I am sitting/lying down, I don’t have any issues. Standing sometimes…is that mass hard as a rock or more soft? I didn’t have any mass after vasectomy, though. Right after reversal, my right one was twice as big as the left one. So I am still ”hoping” that it is a hematoma rather than scar tissue/epididymal damage.

          Maybe I will take a 2nd opinion, good suggestion. I will keep you posted. Do you have any tips about decreasing the mass? Hot baths?

          Reply
  8. So I had a vasectomy done on December 19. A day later, my balls were the size of grapefruits… my left testicle eventually went back to its normal size. The right did not. The urologist said we would drain it out. He drained it out and left a tube attached for a couple of days. He took the tube out, and the swelling went down but not completely. Tomorrow he wants to make a cut and squeeze the rest of it out. The testicle is now hard! What a nightmare this has been.

    Reply
  9. Gentlemen (and some ladies),

    Thank you so much for your posts, reposts candor. I am 3 weeks post-vasectomy and have a “3rd nut” in the form of Hematoma. I cannot believe how this simple, common procedure has knocked me on my ass. I live for workouts and exercise. I am so glad to hear that care and patience will take care of this.

    Three weeks in and the pain has started to subside. I’m on about 2 Advil per day. I’ll report back soon. Thanks & Stay strong.

    Reply
  10. Hello friends, tomorrow marks 4 weeks post-op. I had my vasectomy done on Friday, Oct 18th. Let me tell you: it does get better!

    I developed a third testicle (hematoma) about 1 week into my recovery. I thought it was standard – per the post-op recovery information provided by the urologist, “will have some bruising and swelling.” Funny… I reached out to a friend of mine who had the procedure done a few months prior to mine and asked him if he went through the same ordeal. He did not. He was one of the few lucky ones that just had minor bruising with minimal swelling and a quick recovery.

    Of course, I googled my symptoms and thought I was dying… FYI don’t google your symptoms – Call your doctor! I contacted the urologist who did the procedure and had explained what I had been dealing with – solid mass on the left nut, extreme pain, etc. His response was “hematoma,” he prescribed amoxicillin. I’ve been on it for 10 + days now, and it seems to be doing the trick.

    The following are a must: Stay off your feet, wear tight briefs or jockstrap, ice your sack, take warm baths (once given the ok 1-2 days after the procedure), and for the love of God, no heavy lifting! If you can follow those steps, you’ll find the road to recovery to be a quick one.

    Thanks again for everyone sharing their stories, it helped me out – A LOT!

    Reply
  11. Had my vasectomy done Oct 2019, I felt no pain after the surgery. I got home about 3 hours after surgery, ate, into bed, and relaxed for a few hours until I needed to use the bathroom. Got up from the bed, and that’s where all hell broke loose. Felt like someone stabbed me in the lower abdomen. I checked down there, and the right side was swollen.

    Thought it was all part of the surgery, so gave it about 2 days, but the pain just got worse. I went to the back surgeon. He says I developed an infection. Put me on antibiotics and pain meds, which helped a bit, and swelling on the right side subsided to about half the size. Pain on right up till abdomen was still there but not as severe. I went for a 2nd opinion to my GP and told me a blood clot (Hematoma). Prescribed 2nd batch of stronger antibiotics, which has now affected my stomach ulcers so in severe abdominal pain.

    3 weeks in now, stopped all meds and just waiting it out. Have the odd discomfort and pain but gradually getting better. I had many friends do the procedure, and I’m the lucky one. Don’t just jump at this procedure, really have a good hard think about it.

    Reply
  12. So. Just had my vasectomy done on Halloween morning. I walked out of the office, all good and numb. I went home, chilled out. Felt good. I walked around the house and BAM; my stuff started to swell. It blew up like a good grapefruit. Three days later, I went to urgent care here in Michigan. The doctor gave me the news: Hematoma.

    I have black balls and a black rod and a little hematoma on my mushroom too. Not too excited about this. But I’m still going deer hunting on November 15th.

    Reply
  13. I had my vasectomy in March 2019, a large hematoma on my left side appeared within days. 7 months later, it is very slowly reducing, I have multiple seeping open sores on my scrotum and have been on 4 different antibiotics for the last 4 months.

    A visit to a Urologist was useless. He was pretty circumspect about it and basically told me, “it will heal eventually.” I am now packed with gauze to capture all the ooze. It is not painful (occasional sharp shooting pain). The real issue is my dick is now pointing down and towards the left when erect and makes sex impossible. I have my fingers crossed it will eventually return to normal… I did read quite a lot about how it went wrong (no-scalpel procedure), it seems that my doctor (not a urologist) should have stopped the procedure (urologist society guidelines) when my balls went really tight during the procedure, making it difficult to find the Vas deferens. However, he continued, and I felt a sharp pain at the time…

    So for anyone reading this, thinking a vasectomy is a straightforward and simple procedure without risk. Think again and do your homework… be especially careful if you are like me and have a tight scrotum or if your balls go really tight in your sack… it’s a much higher risk for you, and the procedure should be done by a Urologist, not your local doctor!

    Reply
  14. So I had my vasectomy 9 days ago and practically been on bed rest and ice. The procedure went great, but then I swelled up to the size of an orange. The swelling also followed what I assume the vas tube up into the pubic area and to my left hip. I woke up completely bruised around my whole left side to my hip. VERY painful! Yesterday felt a little better, so I moved around the house a little and now waking up in more pain.

    Am I overdoing it and going backward? When will this progress? I really need to get back to work. My most severe pain is on my left abdomen, where it swelled. My Hemotoma goes from my left ball up the abdominal wall and about halfway to hip. It hurts to stand. Also, my ball sack feels like a fresh burning blister when I stand. Please someone help! I wish I knew what to do to progress this mess. If I felt I was making progress, I’d have A LOT more patience. I am feeling down! Also, I’m taking one to two Advil every 24hrs. While on my back, my pain is minimal. When I stand, it’s terrible. What do I do?!

    Reply
    • Update:

      Tomorrow is my 2 week anniversary since the procedure. I’ve been taking baths 2 times a day, which seems to be helping. Today was the first day where I could stand and walk gracefully around the house. I even went for a drive… never knew how rough the roads are around here until today!

      Well, the next update is gross. For the last 3 days, my incision has been seeping. Tonight I was in the bath lightly messaging the large Hematoma when all of a sudden, my incision popped like a large pimple. It squirt out chunks of grape-like jelly. I didn’t taste it to confirm the grape part. So I kept squishing and couldn’t believe my eyes. This crap just kept squirting out. I wasn’t sure if I should keep going, but I did. Now not sure what to expect tomorrow after this, but I hope it speeds up the healing process. I’ll update as this progresses.

      Reply
    • Try to stay off your feet as much as possible! My hematoma was 7 months ago, and it’s very slowly getting better, but I’m still in pain standing. Laying down is no pain, and sitting is manageable, but standing is rough.

      My hematoma lump was a tennis ball-sized at first and now down to golf ball sized. It’s still tender and sore and connected to my left testicle. I wear jockstraps and take a warm bath every night but haven’t found a cure for the pain.

      Have any of your Urologists talked about surgery to remove the lump? I’m curious if that has helped anybody.

      Reply
  15. Unfortunately, Hematoma is a problem for vasectomy reversal as well. Had my reversal procedure and the next day, my scrotum swelled up like a hard pineapple. Very hard and sensitive on the side of the testicles instead of the front. The doctor said it could take several weeks to months for it to go down. I am limited to wearing basketball shorts, so my large bulge is not showing through my pants. Hard to bend over and walk for long periods of time. Have to eat prunes to avoid constipation as well. Very miserable, but it gets better every day.

    I should have just left my testicles the way God made them. My new slogan for vasectomy is “Never Again”!

    Reply
  16. Same here, had my vasectomy last Friday, next day left side was bruised and swollen to baseball size, bruising had been moving up to my pelvis and hip. Swelling hasn’t increased. Do any pain meds help? I’m just about head out and debating asking for more. I take one Percocet a day. I will try the warm baths.

    Reply
    • Man, I just had mine done last Wednesday, and what a terrible experience. The procedure went easy, but as soon as I got home, it took a major turn for the worse. Deep burning up the left side to the hip. Massive swelling up to hit and now terrible bruising around the left side and even down into my butt cheeks. We’re talking black. I have no clue what to do now. Just waiting it out. Balls are MASSIVE. Very depressing and a bad mistake.

      Reply
      • Bro bro bro… I feel everybody’s pain on this site… had my vasectomy done August 26th, and I haven’t worked since. The first week after the procedure I woke up with my scrotum the size of a grapefruit, I went back to the urologist and the same thing, give it time for swelling to go down if you get a fever, or puss discharge come back.

        Swelling went down, but then a couple of days later, I woke up with this lump on top of my left testicle, and it just kept growing, stretching out my scrotum to a big orange with a cone-shaped extension at the bottom of it. I went back the following week again because the pain was unbearable, so they sent me to do an ultrasound on my scrotum, and long story short… I’m in the same boat as the rest of you guys. It’s a hematoma.

        Very annoyed, but… things could be worse in some strange, weird way. Just a waiting game now. I got an appointment on Monday with my primary, and she’s going to determine whether I’ll be fit for duty to go to work (which I know I won’t), or disability. Keep the blog posted, though… we had to be that 2% that catch the complications after a vasectomy.

        Reply
        • Big Balls. I feel your pain—same story with my reversal on Sept 3, 2019. Swelling comes and goes. I was sore a couple of days ago, but I was working in my shed building shelves and lifting plywood and 2x4s. Noticed tonight that there is a hard mass on vas left side. This morning I had to masturbate and bring semen sample for testing, was shocked to see some blood or brown splotches in the sample jar. This raised my panic level, and here I am on google. Will start taking Alleve and Advil and maybe warm compress.

          Reply
  17. My vasectomy was on Jun 7th, 2019, and 50 days later, I still have a hardened ball (clot) behind my left testicle (now golf ball size). The good news is the size was reduced from an “orange ball size” to “golf ball size.”

    Initially, the doctor said in 1-2 weeks, everything will be ok, but the reality was not like that. Every day I have been taken 20-30 min hot-warm water compress over the scrotum, then Lyrica and cream over the scrotum. The first month I was taking Advil. Like most of you, the first 14 days, it was difficult to stand up or even walk; now I am doing workouts to try to accelerate the clot dissolve; to be honest no much pain along the 50 days but discomfort; I prefer to wait than a surgery to drain or remove the clot.

    I hope in 30 days to be maybe 100% fine. This is the best blog that I found for reference about the symptoms after my vasectomy. I took pictures to follow-up. I did not mention that my left side is the worst; the right side is now good. What I remember is that the doctor injected anesthesia directly on the left testicle (he mentioned). It was different on the right side. For me, it’s a clue why the left side has been the worst, and I do not know if it’s a good practice; why left side yes and right no, strange.

    I asked the doctor how many vasectomies he did, he replied with thousands in a month, that kind of answers makes me some doubt but is too late now. There should be better/realistic available information before getting a vasectomy, but maybe it’s a business now, and nobody tells everything which is very sad. Take it easy and be patient. I will post again after 30 days more.

    Reply
  18. Does anyone know if we are at risk of getting blood clots elsewhere in the body from the scrotal hematoma? I worry about it, causing a pulmonary embolism.

    Reply
  19. This forum has been very helpful. I’m just over 3 months removed from a bad hematoma. An hour after I got home from my vasectomy, my athletic support was soaked in blood, and I started swelling up the size of an orange and all purple/blue color. Bruising down legs and all over the midsection. The doctor said I just had to “wait it out.”

    The swelling went down after a month to a reasonable size, and that’s when I noticed the egg lump. I take a warm bath every night. After 3 months, the swelling and bruising are mostly gone, but I have an egg-sized hematoma lump directly under my left testicle. The hematoma and lump still hurts but not as bad as the first month. The lump feels like it is attached to the left testicle and is hard as a rock. I’m hoping it goes away on its own so I can avoid another surgery… did others have a lump this large still at 3 months, and did it go away over time? How long until close to normal?

    The biggest issues I’m having now are leg and back pain. My legs ache and are sore all day, whether standing or sitting, and it’s hard to be on my feet for more than 5-10 minutes before my legs and back hurt and feel like I need to sit… legs are really tight/sore and haven’t been normal since the procedure. I haven’t had a pain free day in 3 months! I wake up sore every morning as well in legs/back/hip. I’ve been seeing a Chiropractic but hasn’t helped. Urologists say these are not normal symptoms of a hematoma, but I can’t help but think it is related as I had no issues prior to vasectomy… Anybody else has these similar leg/back symptoms linger after their hematoma? It makes everyday life being on your feet with a family a daunting task. Hang in there and try to stay positive!

    Reply
  20. Having read about all of your issues, I am so scared. It has only been 2 days since my vasectomy, and within hours of getting it done, I had swollen up significantly and could feel a testicle sized lump on my right side. Now two days later and the pain is almost unbearable, and my sack is the size of a pineapple.

    I see you all saying the scrotal-hematoma takes many weeks to months to heal, but how long before my sack starts to return to a more reasonable size? How long was it before you were able to walk again and resume some normal functions? I can’t be out of work for 6 months. My work will let me do an office job once I can manage.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This is the only site I’ve found that covers this kind of thing. So you all are my only hope.

    Reply
  21. Hi all. Great resource and thanks for sharing your stories. I’m still a bit confused about my situation because I’m unable to feel any definitive “egg” or “grape” or “avocado” at the moment, but something is wrong for sure. I’m 10 days post-op. I did a no-needle no-scalpel that had the amazing pamphlet with “you can resume physical activity if you feel up to it after 3-5 days!” Well, I did feel good, so I made some activity—a big mistake.

    After things felt a bit worse the two days after that, my wife said she’d take a look. It turns out the entire bottom and underside of my scrotum (basically up to where it meets the anus but not quite) have that very intense purple/black/(and some dark/mid red as it branches out) bruising. The situation looks very much like some of the purple balloon scrotums that you see on google image searches for “scrotal hematoma,” but it’s only on the backside/underside again, no lump. The frontside actually looks relatively normal and healthy in color. My left testicle is hanging significantly lower than the right and feels slightly “warm” or swollen, and I’m wondering if I’m literally walking around with a scrotum-bag of blood that is either still leaking out or just hasn’t “lumped” yet? I will say that the last three days have looked relatively the same (the “bruises” or whatever are not massively growing or anything).

    Could someone clarify the bruising situation pre-“lump” / or shed some light on this for me?

    Thanks,
    Kurt

    Reply
  22. 18 days post-vasectomy here. Same old story, first few days were as expected, but the swelling on my right side never went down and became unbearable to stand or walk. I went to Dr. and was told I had a hematoma, and it would be better with ibuprofen in a few weeks.

    The pain got worse after another couple of days, and I went back again at which point they did an ultrasound and said that the hematoma was around a cord above the testicle so they couldn’t drain it and prescribed me rest, heat, and tramadol for the pain. The pain had become so unbearable I was prescribed Vicodin the next day, which is only taking the edge off when I’m lying just like the tramadol.

    Nice to see I’m not alone, but I’m going out of my mind with pain as apparently, my hematoma is compressing a nerve.

    Reply
    • I’m with you, I’m 18 days post-vasectomy today and can’t walk 10 feet without lifting my right leg and holding onto something. The doctor doesn’t seem too concerned. I have to get back to my life. Sucks.

      Reply

Leave a Comment