A mentally retarded boy staying in a orphanage was bought to me with a scrotal swelling. The boy is 14 years old. He looks disturbed because of pain although he was not able to speak. I examined him and found that his scrotum was swollen and very tender.
The ultrasound showed that his testes had rotated and there was no blood supply – meaning it was already dead. His caretaker says its swollen since 5 days. Poor fellow. A normal boy would have come immediately with such a swelling. His mental retardation and absence of parents had led him to loose his organ.
I had to take him up for surgery. On opening his scrotum his testes was totally dead. There was nothing that i could do for an organ that had lost its blood supply for 5 days! In normal circumstances such surgeries taken up immediately after the onset of swelling can save the testes. Most of the times I have observed that if parents are prompt and bring their child in emergency, the testes can be salvaged. If its late, the testes is lost for ever.
See more at: http://drbcshah.com/loss-of-organ/