Recovery after hydrocele repair: week by week

Figures below are ranges quoted by NHS leaflets and a commissioning policy rather than fixed rules. Healing speed varies between people, so rely on your surgeon's own instructions wherever they differ from what is written here.

The figures here are for adult hydrocele repair. Surgery in boys is a different operation through the groin, with its own advice, and is not covered. The operation itself is explained in our procedure guide.

Durations are those stated in the two trust leaflets and vary.

You are observed for a while after the operation, with one leaflet giving a minimum of one hour, then allowed home once you have eaten, drunk and passed urine. The dressing and the support stay on, and you keep the wound dry. A trust says you must not drive for 24 hours after sedation or a general anaesthetic.

Expect an ache and a feeling of heaviness. Take simple painkillers as the packet advises. Resting with the scrotum supported on a rolled towel when lying down can help, as can an ice pack wrapped in cloth, never directly on the skin. Short walks the next day are encouraged.

The scrotum often looks larger and bruised, sometimes alarmingly so, and the bruise can spread to the groin or thighs and change colour. This is common. One leaflet says the dressing may be removed after 48 hours, and showers are allowed from then, with baths held back for two weeks. Pat the wound dry and do not soak.

Wear the support or tight briefs, because it reduces swelling. Loose trousers rub less. Avoid heavy lifting and straining. Watch for a swelling that grows quickly, tightens and becomes very painful, which may mean bleeding into the scrotum and needs urgent review.

Dissolvable stitches work their way out in their own time, 10 to 21 days at one trust and up to about three weeks at another, and nothing needs to be removed. A little crusting or an ache is normal. Swelling declines slowly, and it is normal for it to be uneven.

Return to work depends on the job. One leaflet says as soon as you feel able, typically one to two weeks for a non-physical role, and a trust says to self-certify for a week and speak to your GP for longer. Driving is possible once you can perform an emergency stop; one leaflet gives one to two weeks. The DVLA guidance says anyone unable to control the vehicle safely must not drive, and your insurer may have its own terms. Sex is advised against for two to three weeks in one leaflet.

The leaflets we retrieved give four weeks as the point after which heavy lifting and strenuous exercise can be resumed. Residual swelling and firmness at the cut can take longer to resolve, and no one can promise exactly when the scrotum will look final.

Tell your surgeon if the swelling returns or increases after it had gone down, since a hydrocele can come back. A follow-up visit is arranged by some units and not others, so ask before you leave.

Contact your GP, NHS 111 or the surgical unit for a red, hot or leaking wound, fever, or increasing pain. A trust leaflet advises A&E for significant swelling with severe pain or excessive bleeding. Call 999 for chest pain, breathlessness or a swollen, painful calf.

Sudden severe pain in the opposite testicle is a separate emergency, because torsion needs surgery within hours, so attend A&E without delay.