Swollen Penile Foreskin: A personal inquiry
QUESTION:
Dear Sir,
Over the last year, my husband undertook surgery for colorectol cancer and then took radiation on top of chemo. all has been going well...we have mixed traditional medicine with homeopathic remedies all along the way. We are stumped, however, with an odd side effect that none of our doctors are able to deal with apparently. During the process of surgery, chemo and rad we did well dealing with side effects but now, 6 months after the fact from all treatment, he is suddenly having a swelling problem with the fore skin of the penis. This swelling does not affect elimination at all. The only answer we are given by all the doctors is that due to so many glands being taken out in the pelvic area, this swelling will come and go as the lymph nodes try to compensate and learn new rtoutes for drainage out of the body (at least I think this is what they are telling us) The urologist actually told my husband to hold and squeeze the penis to try to squeeze the fluid back out...i thought this sounded ridiculous! I can tell you that it does not work! In the mean time, you can imagine how my husband is feeling...depressed, anxious, etc...is there anything we can do to help this problem, or is this something we will have to just "live" with for the rest of his life? Thank you for any information you might be able to give us!
Sincerely,
Stumped and Swollen
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ANSWER:
Stumped and Swollen -
Does it look like this?
It may be phimosis.
If it is fluid due to a lack of lymph nodes, some physicians use electrical stimulation which helps pump the fluid back into the tissues - but in that area, it may be difficult.
Breast cancer patients have similar issues when the lymph nodes are removed from the arm pit - their arm swells like crazy. There it is easy to apply a compression bandage and provide electrical stimulation. The groin area proves challenging.
Disclaimer: This information is for educational and informational use only - not a recommended course of action or treatment.
Thank you for your question. I hope he improves.
In health,
Ben
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4 Comments:
yes!! this is exactly what it looks like! Oh thank you so much for your response! The crazy thing about it is that he may go to bed at night and everything is fine. Then. when he gets up at 7:00AM...boom...it is swelled. It might stay that way for 2 to 3 days and then it goes back to normal for a day or two. It's not a steady cycle of swelling. It comes and goes as it pleases. Thank you so much for your help! I look foward to hearing back from you on any options available to treat this issue.
is your husband circumsized?
does it look like there is an infection around - any discoloration or thickening of skin?
No, he is not circumsized. There appears to be no infection or discoloration. I have insisted that he keep himself very clean and he also used baby powder to keep everything dry. To me, it just looks like a collection of water or fluid just under the skin completely around the penis, particularily more toward the end although, the swelling does proceed almost all the way down to the groin area. The swelling is not as bad the further down it goes but it is there all the same. Usually, when the swelling starte, it is right around the head of the penis and in a complete circle. When I looked at the photos on the website you sent, the very first photo is exactly how his looks with the swelling. No thickening of skin. In fact, when it swells, I have to wonder what keeps the skin from bursting open to let the fluid out.
did he have all the lymph nodes removed from his groin? if so, that will definitely limit drainage of fluid from the area. exercising is the only thing that comes to mind that would help limit it - that may be why it gets worse in the morning as he is not moving. when moving, the muscles push the fluid up and out. that is why electrical stimulation is good - it contracts the muscles to get rid of the fluid. that is also why compression is used for patients who have full armpit lymph node removal - but it does not seem fun to wear a compression stocking on a penis - not psychologically beneficial as well.
im hoping it is an infection - that's much easier to treat than lack of lymph nodes removing excess fluid.
read this article which explains the role of the lymphatic system:
http://www.lymphnotes.com/article.php/id/151/
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