Testicular Implants
Author : Doctor Ahmed Abd El-Aziz
• Updated at: Jun 09, 2024 •
Testicular implants is one of the plastic surgeries performed at Bedaya Hospital by specialized surgeons. A prosthesis is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part. A Testicular prosthesis can be inserted in men with a congenital malformation where there are no testes in the scrotum, in cases of trauma that led to the loss of one or both testicles, in case of small testes or testicular atrophy. The operation is considered cosmetic and can’t perform the functions of the testes which is sperm production.
Testicular implants
The process of placing testicular omplants takes about half an hour to an hour to complete, during which the patient is given general or local anesthesia The patient can leave the hospital on the same day but preferably accompanied by someone to avoid any physical exertion.
Testicular implants steps
A small incision is made in the scrotum and the testicle prosthesis is placed and fixed in its right place. The testicular prosthesis is made of medically licensed silicone. The surgeon stitches up the incision with sutures that do not cause any scarring after healing. In Bedaya Hospital, we use silicone gaskets filled with saltwater approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The implants do not interact with the body tissues and do not cause damage on the short or long run.
Testicular implants recovery
The recovery period of placing a testicular implant is 3 days to a week. During this week the patient is adviced to refrain from any physical activity and if needed antibiotics are prescribed. Work can be resumed after a week, but the patient should refrain from sexual intercourse for a duration of 3-4 weeks. Testicular implants may affect erection, weakness may occur in the period following the operation but with time the patient regains the ability to have a healthy erection. The procedure does not affect the production of sperm if present. In patients that do have sperm sometimes the doctor advices freezing a semen sample for future use in IVF/ICSI just in case.
For whom is Implantation of testicular prosthesis?
Testicular implants are recommended:
- In cases of congenital defects that cause absent or extremely small testicles.
- In case of orchidectomy (removal of testicle/s) due to other diseases such as severe testicular torsion or testicular cancer.
- Cases of cryptorchidism (the testes have not naturally descended into the scrotum from the abdominal cavity during the first 9 months of age). If not timely diagnosed and surgically corrected the scrotum remains empty and the patient might want to cosmetically correct this.
Placing a testicular implant changes the overall appearance of the penile area and can improve the psychological state and confidence of the patient, it must be noted however that it is only a cosmetic procedure and does not produce sperm or excrete testosterone.
