After surgery

Although this is a minor operation, it’s important to rest for the first week after surgery. You might feel more tired than usual. Avoid heavy lifting and vigorous exercise during this time.

It takes between 1 and 4 weeks to recover completely.

Recovering after surgery

Managing pain

It’s normal for your groin and scrotal area to feel bruised and swollen after a radical orchidectomy.

Wear close-fitting underwear such as briefs or Y-fronts instead of loose boxer shorts. You might need to wear special underwear with scrotal support for 1 week after the surgery. This helps you feel more comfortable and reduces swelling.

We’ll give you painkillers to help manage your pain.

It’s important to follow your prescription and continue taking your painkillers regularly. Taking them regularly makes them more effective.

Your prescription will explain how to slowly reduce your dose once you’re feeling better.

If the pain is difficult to control, contact your clinical nurse specialist or a GP.

Having sex

Do not have sex for 2 weeks after having a radical orchidectomy. After this, you can have sex as usual, as long as you feel comfortable.

Removing a testicle will not affect your physical ability to get an erection, but it can cause emotional stress. The worry and anxiety that comes with a cancer diagnosis can affect your sex life.

If you want to talk to someone about this, we can put you in touch with our Dimbleby Cancer Care service.

Showering

You can bathe or shower normally 24 hours after your operation. When you dry your groin area, gently pat it with a towel. Do not wipe.

Driving

Only start driving when you can do an emergency stop without hesitation. Check with your insurance company to make sure that you’re still covered after having an operation.

Going back to work

If you have a desk-based job, you should be able to go back to work after 1 week.

If you have a more physical job, you might need to wait 2 to 3 weeks before you can go back to work.

Getting your test results

A pathologist will check your:

• tissue samples
• blood tests
• CT scans

You’ll have an appointment to discuss your results about 2 weeks after your radical orchidectomy.

This will confirm if the lump in your testicles was cancerous was not.

After this appointment, we’ll send a discharge letter to your GP explaining the treatment, any medicines you had and any follow-up arrangements.

Follow-up appointments

If the tests confirm that the lump was cancerous, you’ll have an appointment with a cancer specialist (oncologist). Your oncologist will give you more information about testicular cancer and how we can treat it.

Removing the testicle might have removed the cancer from your body. In this case, you do not need any other treatment.

But if your test results show that the cancer has spread, you might need to have chemotherapy. We’ll discuss this with you before starting any treatment.

You’ll continue to have follow-up appointments with our oncology team for at least 5 years.

Useful information

• Dimbleby Cancer Care offers support and information during and after your cancer treatment at our hospitals.
• Macmillan Cancer Support has a free booklet called ‘Understanding testicular cancer’.
• Orchid Fighting Male Cancer has information and support for testicular and prostate cancers.