What is the difference to a hernia?
A testicular hernia can often develop from an advanced inguinal hernia (inguinal hernia or inguinal hernia), but the two types of hernia differ from each other. In an inguinal hernia, the hernial orifice lies in the inguinal canal and the affected person notices a depressible bulge in the inguinal region. The hernial sac hangs over the inguinal ligament, whereas in the case of a testicular hernia it moves through the inguinal canal into the testicles.
What are possible consequences?
Normally, a testicular hernia can be operated on without any problems and heals without any problems afterwards. However, a testicular hernia that is not treated or not treated properly can also lead to unpleasant long-term consequences. In some cases nerves or blood vessels are pinched off by the hernia sac.
As a result, the blood supply to the intestine may be reduced. Since the intestine is an extremely sensitive organ, sections of the intestine can quickly die off due to the lack of oxygen supply. This clinical picture is called intestinal ischemia.
Acute intestinal ischemia causes severe symptoms such as unbearable abdominal pain, bloody stools, vomiting and nausea. Intestinal ischemia is a medical emergency and requires immediate treatment in the form of surgery. When large parts of the intestine die, the disease has a bad course and the majority of patients die.
Other consequences of a scrotal hernia can be impotence and infertility. In some cases, a testicular hernia causes important structures within the groin, such as the testicular artery or the spermatic cord, to be cut off. The spermatic cord contains nerves and vessels that supply the testicles.
In addition, the spermatic duct also runs through the spermatic cord. If the spermatic cord is cut off, the testicle on the affected side can no longer be supplied with blood properly. If this condition persists for a long period of time (more than six to seven hours), the testicles can be permanently damaged and the man becomes infertile.
However, if the testicle on the other side is not damaged, fertility is maintained. In complicated testicular hernias, it is possible that the spermatic cord in the inguinal canal is pinched off. Important nerves and vessels run through the spermatic cord, which ensure that the man can get an erection. If these structures are pinched off over a longer period of several hours, this can lead to permanent impotence. For this reason, a doctor should be consulted immediately if a testicular hernia is suspected.
