Air in the scrotum, the unusual pathology of a 72-year-old man.
A man living in the United States stayed with a “wheezing scrotum” after an operation went wrong. The 72-year-old man, whose name has not been released, went to the emergency room with a terrible concern: his wheezing scrotum, as well as shortness of breath and a swollen face. That is to say, his testicles were ringing.
An X-ray showed he had too much air trapped in his chest, which caused his lungs to collapse and could have been fatal if left untreated, according to a report in the American Journal of Case Reports.
He also had air trapped in his scrotum, a rare condition called pneumocroto. Two plastic tubes were inserted into his chest to drain excess air and he was transferred to another hospital for further treatment.
“Whistling scrotum”, the strange pathology of a 72-year-old man.
However, his condition worsened. -with the greatest amount of trapped air- and a third tube was inserted. Within days, his lungs had recovered and he was discharged, but the wheezing sac would persist for another two years, which was described as an “abnormally long time”.
The man “categorically denied” that he injected air into the scrotum, and the doctors said that nothing in his behavior gave them reason to doubt.
The main source of wheezing was identified in an open wound on the left side of the scrotum.due to an operation to reduce swelling five months earlier.
The 72-year-old man has undergone several surgeries and has not yet been able to recover.
“It will never be known whether the air leak attenuated the patient’s presentation and led to a more favorable outcome,” the report said. Unfortunately, the report stated that the patient would require additional scrotal surgery and possibly a bilateral orchiectomy, i.e. removal of both testicles.
The report concludes: “The pneumoscotum is a rare clinical entity. When air is present in the scrotum, timely evaluation is needed to identify the source and stabilize the patient.”
The patient had air in the scrotum.
“It is essential to make a detailed history of the events that led to the pneumocrotus, as a significant percentage are of iatrogenic or traumatic origin. Our case of pneumothorax due to suspected spontaneous bilateral pneumothorax it’s unusual. “
“Our patient had an open scrotal wound due to a recent scrotal procedure, which allowed air to escape from his abdominal compartment, giving rise to his concern about scrotal ‘wheezing.’
In a new surgery they will have to remove the testicles.
“It will never be known whether the air leak attenuated the patient’s presentation and led to a more favorable outcome. However, he was successfully treated with multiple chest tubes, subcutaneous drainages and supportive care.”
What is a pneumoscote
The pneumoscotum is a rare condition in which air gets trapped in the scrotum. Only 60 cases have been described in the medical literature. Since air cannot escape through openings in the body, this air usually requires medical intervention.
Dr Bickford said it is unclear whether the man’s condition has improved due to this “escape route”.
It is not uncommon for a pneumoscote to be accompanied by problems with the accumulation of air in the rib cage. For example, in 2011 a case was described of a man who developed one after a tracheostomy. After the surgery, he was diagnosed with subcutaneous emphysema and this ended up causing the pneumoscote. Therefore, air loss generally ends up causing it to accumulate around the testicles. But in the case of this patient, precisely because he had a previous incision, the air was gradually coming out instead of accumulating.
Source: Clarin