Problems after surgery for testicular cancer:
There’s always a chance of issues or complications after any surgery. While many of these issues are minor, some can be serious. It’s crucial to address any problems as quickly as possible.
The specific risks depend on the type of surgery you undergo.
General Risks:
Any major operation there is a risk of
Infection:
After surgery, there’s a chance you might get an infection. This can happen at the site of the wound, in your chest, or in your urinary tract. To lower the risk, you’ll be given antibiotics, but it’s important to let your doctor or nurse know if you notice any signs of infection.
Symptoms to watch for include:
– A high fever
– Shivering or chills
– Feeling hot and cold
– General unwellness
– Coughing
– Nausea
– Swelling, redness, or heat around your wound
– A bad smell or discharge from the wound
– Loss of appetite
In rare cases, if your wound gets infected, you might need another surgery to treat it.
Blood clots:
After surgery, there’s a chance of developing blood clots, known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), because you might not be moving around as much as usual. These clots can block blood flow in your veins. If you notice any swelling, warmth, redness, or pain in your leg, let your doctor or nurse know right away.
There’s also a risk that a clot could break loose and travel to your lungs, causing a blockage called a pulmonary embolism. Symptoms of this include:
– Difficulty breathing
– Chest pain
– Coughing up blood
– Feeling faint or lightheaded
If you experience any of these symptoms, it’s important to seek medical attention immediately.
To help prevent blood clots after surgery, it’s crucial to do the leg exercises your nurse or physiotherapist showed you. Your nurse might also give you an injection under the skin to reduce the risk of clots while you’re in the hospital. Depending on the type of surgery, you might need to continue these injections for up to 4 weeks after you go home.
Before you leave the hospital, your nurse might teach you how to give yourself these injections, or a district nurse might visit your home to administer them. Additionally, if your doctor advises it, it’s important to keep wearing compression stockings to further reduce the risk of clots.
Bleeding:
After your surgery, there’s a chance you might experience some bleeding. The medical team will keep a close watch on you for any signs of bleeding, especially in the first few days, when the risk is highest. By the time 3 or 4 days have passed, the risk is much lower.
If bleeding occurs, the treatment you need will depend on how much blood you lose and what’s causing it. You might require a blood transfusion, and in rare cases, another surgery might be necessary to stop the bleeding.
Problems after surgery to remove one testicle:
Most men develop cancer in just one testicle, which is typically removed through surgery. It’s rare to require surgery on both testicles. After the operation, you may experience some discomfort and bruising for a couple of weeks.
Your sex life:
Removing one testicle doesn’t usually affect your ability to get an erection. The other testicle often compensates by producing more testosterone (the male hormone) and sperm.
However, after treatment, you might temporarily lose interest in sex due to fatigue, sickness, or other side effects.
Fertility and Having Children:
For most men, this surgery won’t impact your ability to father children. But in some cases, the remaining testicle may not function as effectively, which could reduce fertility.
Doctors may recommend sperm banking before starting treatment. This involves storing sperm for potential future use in fertility treatments.
Problems after surgery to remove both testicles:
It’s rare to have testicular cancer in both testicles. However, if it does occur, surgery is needed to remove both.
The testicles produce testosterone, and after their removal, the testosterone levels in your blood drop quickly. This can impact your sex drive and fertility, making these changes challenging to cope with. It might be helpful to talk to a close friend or a professional about your feelings.
Sex Life:
To maintain your sex drive and the ability to get an erection, you’ll need testosterone replacement therapy. This can be done through:
– Injections into the muscle of your arm or leg every 2 to 3 weeks
– Skin patches that continuously release a small dose through the skin
– Gel that you apply to your skin daily
Having Children (Fertility)
After both testicles are removed, you will no longer be able to have children naturally. Before the surgery, your doctor will discuss sperm banking as an option to preserve your ability to have children in the future.
Problems after surgery to remove lymph nodes (retroperitoneal lymph node dissection):
You might need an operation to remove lymph nodes from the back of your abdomen. This surgery is called retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) and is a significant procedure. It can affect the nerves that control how sperm is released, which might impact your sex life and future ability to have children.
Effects on Sex Life
After the operation, you should still be able to get an erection and have an orgasm. However, a common side effect is called “dry ejaculation,” where the semen goes backward into your bladder instead of coming out through your penis. This is known as retrograde ejaculation.
Effects on Fertility
With retrograde ejaculation, you won’t be able to get someone pregnant naturally. But there might be options to retrieve sperm directly from your testicles or from your urine after sex, which could then be used to fertilize your partner, possibly through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Your doctor will discuss the possibility of storing your sperm before the surgery if needed.
Having Children (Fertility)
If you experience retrograde ejaculation, you won’t be able to get someone pregnant through regular sexual intercourse. However, doctors may be able to retrieve sperm directly from your testicles or from your urine after sex. A fertility specialist can then use your sperm to help fertilize your partner, either directly or through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Your doctor will discuss the option of storing sperm before the surgery.
Damage to Other Organs in Your Abdomen
Because this is a major surgery, there’s a possibility that other organs in your abdomen, such as the small bowel, kidneys, or ureters (the tubes that carry urine), could be damaged. If any of these issues arise, the surgeon typically identifies and fixes them during the operation.
Leaks
Your abdomen contains lymphatic vessels, which are part of the lymphatic system and help drain fluid (called chyle) from the small bowel. Sometimes, these vessels can leak after surgery, causing chyle to accumulate in the abdomen—a condition known as chylous ascites.
If the leak is small, you might not need treatment. However, a larger leak can cause illness and may require the fluid to be drained through a tube placed in your abdomen for a few days. Additionally, you may need to follow a low-fat diet for about four weeks to reduce the amount of chyle your body produces.