Hematocele

Hematocele: Description, Causes and Risk Factors:

Effusion of blood into a canal or a cavity of the body.

A hematocele is a medical term used to describe a collection of blood in the scrotum of males. The scrotum is the pouch or sac that contains the testicles. A hematocele tends to develop relatively quickly following surgery or a traumatic injury involving the scrotum. In many cases, this collection of blood in the scrotum develops into a hardened mass that can become quite uncomfortable, especially if it begins to grow in size.

Hematocele is also referred to as blood cysts because blood is present in the fluid. They develop when a blood vessel breaks in the cyst and spills blood into it. Though they are generally harmless they can cause abdominal pain. The pain is usually located on one side of the body in the lower abdominal region. As the cyst fills with blood it can stretch very rapidly causing pain.

Occasionally hematocele ruptures and blood spill into the abdomen. This can cause severe pain and discomfort in the entire abdominal area. Hematocele often go away on their own. Even if they rupture they can clear up without surgery. Sometimes surgical removal is necessary and is done by laparoscopy, a fairly non-invasive procedure that requires minimal scaring and recovery time. Hemorrhagic cysts are usually diagnosed by an ultra sound.

Factors that increase the risk of a hematocele vary because of the variety of causes of abnormalities in the scrotum. Significant risk factors include the following:

Undescended or retractile testicle. An undescended testicle is a testicle that never leaves the abdomen and, therefore, never enters the scrotum during fetal development or early infancy. A retractile testicle is one that has descended into the scrotum at some point but retreats to the abdomen. An undescended or retractile testicle may be linked to an increased risk of inguinal hernia, testicular torsion, and testicular cancer.

• Abnormalities present at birth: Abnormalities of the testicles, penis or kidneys present at birth (congenital) may increase the risk of a scrotal mass and testicular cancer later in life.
• History of testicular cancer: If you have had cancer in one testicle, you’re at increased risk of cancer affecting the other testicle. If your father or brother has had testicular cancer, you also have an increased risk of cancer.

Symptoms:

There are some symptoms that you can look into if you have hematocele:

Frequent irregular menstrual periods.

• Regular painful experience on your pelvic area.
• Experienced any pains on your pelvis before and after your menstrual period.
• Pain in the pelvis during intercourse.
• Nausea, breast tenderness and vomiting.
• Heaviness or fullness in the abdomen.
• Pressure on the rectum or bladder.

Diagnosis:

If you feel that you have an increased risk of developing hematocele, the smart thing to do is to keep regular tabs on your body. Your regular medical checkups should be enough if your doctor is on the lookout for any type of hematocele.

As always, early detection is the key in treating most medical conditions. With different types of hematoceles, complications can develop very quickly so it is particularly important to receive an early diagnosis.

A hematocele that begins bleeding into itself, becoming a hemorrhagic cyst, can easily rupture and cause a number of problems.

If your physician suspects the presence of a hematocele, further diagnostic options are available to you such as having an ultrasound performed. An endovaginal ultrasound can reveal the nature of any hematocele that are detected, allowing you to decide what type of treatment may be necessary.

Treatment:

It is important to discuss your condition with your physician and talk with him/her about a treatment plan. Hematocele benefit from a holistic treatment approach. Hormone levels seem to play an important role in the development of cysts and an underlying hormonal imbalance can make a woman more prone to developing functional cysts.

Our hormone levels fluctuate through the monthly cycle and during pregnancy. When they are at the appropriate levels everything seems to go along smoothly. Some women have a genetic predisposition to experiencing irregular hormone levels and ovarian cysts, but there are many other influences as well. Hematocele are more likely to occur and less likely to dissolve on their own if there is an imbalance in hormone levels.

If the hematocele is relatively small and does not cause a lot of pain, conservative treatment such as foot elevation and bed rest may be sufficient. In more severe cases, surgical intervention may become necessary. Surgery may be performed to drain the accumulated blood from the scrotum. If a testicular tumor is found to be the cause of the bleeding, the entire testicle is generally removed to prevent the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body.

If surgery becomes necessary to treat the hematocele, it may take several weeks for the patient to recover fully from the procedure. This is due to the fact that the scrotum tends to swell after surgery. This swelling can cause discomfort or pain that does not easily go away. Prescription medications are often given to help the patient recover from the surgery. Owing to the sensitive nature of the genital area, the patient may be partially or completely disabled for a number of weeks following surgery, causing such a procedure to be performed only in the most extreme cases.

NOTE: The above information is for processing purpose. The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition.

DISCLAIMER: This information should not substitute for seeking responsible, professional medical care.