Swelling and bruising in the scrotum and penis after robotic prostate removal.

Hello,

I am 49 years old and I had robotic prostate removal surgery 3 days ago. My catheter is draining normally and the urine is a pale yellow color. Early this morning I noticed that my scotum and penis were a very deep purple color and severily swollen.  This concerned me greatly as my penis is about 2 inches around and my scrotum is about the size of a softball. They both feel like if they get any bigger they are going to pop. I called right away and spoke to the person on call and they said it was ok and not to worry about it. I just wondered if anyone else has had this same type of swelling and if indeed it is ok to let it go away on its own? I also have a very large bruise that runs from my hip to almost my breast along my right ribcage, it is about 18 inches long and about a foot wide, this really doesn't seem like something that should be normal to me, however I just wanted to hear some other thoughts if you have sustained similiar bruising. Otherwise my surgeon said the surgery went fine and they were able to spare both nerves. Thanks in advance to any and all replies.

Best Regards,

Mrlag

The third day after my laparoscopic surgery a very large, very dark hematoma (bruise) appeared on my left side, starting at the hip and going up. It measured 12" high by 16" wide. Because my surgeon had cut wide because of my situation, he planned on leaving the J drain in for 3 days, but after seeing the hematoma he decided to leave it for another week. Other than a bit of tenderness and swelling, the hematoma proved to be harmless and was gone within 3 weeks.

I also had serious bruising of the scrotum and penis, and though there was swelling it wasn't severe. I did have serious swelling down there once from a different surgery. Try the size of two grapefruit. It was very uncomfortable, and kept me home in very loose shorts for quite awhile. The doctor wasn't concerned, just said to take it easy until the swelling went down.

Hope this helps.

Shawn

A big welcome to you, MrLag, glad you found us. I did not have any swelling in that area after my surgery, as long as your dr/surgeon thinks its ok and "normal", then I guess you can relax, hopefully the swelling will go down soon and you can move along with your recovery. I wish the very best for you.

David in SC

My scrotum was just like that. It looked like a swollen dark blue softball. It did go down eventually. I am not sure about the breast bruise. Glad to hear your nerves were spared. A big plus to get those great feeling erections going again. Be sure to get blood into your penis on a daily basis as soon as the swelling of the scrotum goes down. It is important to regain your erections.  

I have described mine as "orange" sized or small "grapefruit" sized!

With the benefit of 13 years since my RP we still laugh about them.

I was not laughing at the time! While they were swolen and uncomfortable there was no associated pain and they were back to normal within a week.  Best wishes for a fast decrease to normal size! Al

Had surgery on Friday, March 16, 2012, went home on the 18th. Feeling pretty good, pain is controlled but saw this sudden swelling today of penis and scrotum, scared me so I called my surgeon. He said if I didn't have any other swelling of ankles or feeling faint to elevate the scrotum and drink coffee or beer to help as a diaretic. I feel fine and getting to drink that beer makes me feel real good. I will be going in to a cystogram tomorrow and having this cathether removed on Monday, praise the Lord.

I agree with the other posters, most of the swelling you described down below seems to be a common malady after prostate surgery. I, myself, had open surgery, and really didn't have any swelling or discoloration.

The large bruise, don't know what to think about it, other than its perhaps just another side effect of the surgery. Even when done roboticly, your body still has been through a major and traumatic surgery.

Hopefully, both issues will resolve in due time.

The mention of your urine being clear this soon is a good sign. Don't be surprised, even in the days ahead, that you don't pass surgical debris, small clots, small amounts of blood, etc. That would be in the range of normal too.

Good luck as you continue to recover, and please keep us up to date.

David in SC

I was warned about this but did not have it.

Personal theory (not in any way factually substantiated) is that part of the reason I didn't have it is that I already had it, the only other time I visited a urologic surgeon. I chuckled quite a bit when the guy taking my prostate out needed me to sign a form indicating that he'd be sterilizing me - already had that snipped years ago. And when I did, things got all black and blue and swollen - so that's the source of my anecdotal theory about this.

The effect nobody told me about which my docotor was also surprised to hear (I may be a bit more frank than the average patient? or it's not common?) was that things were hanging lower - unfortunately the reason I knew that for sure is that they were striking toilet-water, and that had never happened before. Thankfully that has not (at least to that extent) been a permanent condition. But you can sing that song where ears were the "polite replacement for kids" and woggle them to and fro (never got to throwing them over my shoulder - just as happy not to.)

Drink a lot while you have the rubber snake - anything you flush out the catheter, you won't have to flush out without it.

I didn't read the whole thread to know whether it has already been suggested or not, but what really helped me was aspirin and a hot/cold pack that I microwaved for 15-20 seconds and then sat on so that it was right under the scrotum. Sweet relief. Good luck. Didn't have much bruising, but there was some down there.

I remember when I first noticed the swelling. I did not panic because I was warned. I did how ever laugh out loud because to me that whole area looked like Jabba the Hut (Star Wars) with a crazy straw.
That phrase alone brought my wife to tears. It has the same effect on most people I tell that story too.
You just can't make this stuff up!

9 days post-op, urine flow is at a trickle and painful after catherter was removed on day 7. Bowel movements are great after using an enema, it seems every time I go unrinate it I have to make number 2. I was hoping the urinating discomfort would end after a day but that's not the case so far.

Svelte1,

Consult with your doctor/surgeon about how to regulate the bowel movements. Also for any urinary issues, as any infections or blockages need to be addressed immediately.

My surgeon warned me very strongly against using an enema. Better said, he told me not to do that. The reason might not be clear, but if you consider the location of your prostate (just a DRE finger's distance inside your rectum) and the surgery area that runs along one side of the rectum, the risk of pushing an enema bottle tip up there becomes evident.

Mine reviewed the stool softeners that I have been taking regularly after other colo-rectal surgery, and made suggestions using those.

And yes, for the first few months it made a lot more sense to sit down for any voiding functions, as there was no predicting what was going to happen.

At 9 days post-op you can't expect to see improvements. If there are some, be very happy.

Thanks 142 and tvwohio.

I have to consider the fact that one nerve was spared and the other not because of concern although lab results says it was cancer free after removal. Last night I woke up with a semi-hard one and that was a a good sign I thought. I do the kegels 4 times each day and as often as possible when I think about it. I have stool softener but I did not ask my doctor for a recommended type. I can't expect much after 3 days having the cath removed. Urinating is painful but I think it will get better, I had the cath for 7 days and that was very uncomfortable.