Sam’s Surgery

*warning this entry contains proper words for body parts. If you feel uncomfortable seeing words like that, then please stop reading now.*
Earlier this year Sam had surgery. Around July of last year I was changing Sam's diaper and I noticed one of his testicles was larger (a lot) than the other one. I felt them and it felt like he had three total (one on the right and two on the left.) It was strange. I asked my friend who was in his surgical residency if he knew what that could be. He wasn't sure. Later after his urology rotation he came across these a lot (in older men.)
It seemed to go away and come back every so often. One time when it was visible we took him to urgent care. The diagnosis: a varicocele (varicose vein in the scrotum,) but submitted a referral to a pediatric urologist to be sure. They had us take him for an ultrasound first. We took the ultrasound x-rays to our appointment with the urologist. He said it wasn't a varicocele but wasn't sure what it could be and recommended we watch it for 6 months and come back later.
Six months later we arrived at our appointment at the urologist's office. This time an ultrasound technician gave him an ultrasound at the office. The doctor visited with us for a couple of minutes. The diagnosis: a hydrocele (sack of fluid that empties and fills) and hernia. While a hydrocele is not dangerous and could go away on its own, since it hadn't repaired itself in 6 months, surgery was recommended.
We met at St. Joseph's outpatient clinic for Sam's surgery. He was actually put under for the procedure. The doctor made a 1-inch size incision in Sam's abdomen. He found the hydrocele and tied it off. Then he stitched up the opening (above where his scrotal sac is) where the hydrocele was located. The hydrocele was left in his body where the fluid was absorbed into his body. Then his abs were stitched up with absorbable stitches and his skin was stuck together with medical super glue. We could feel his internal stitches and scar for months after his surgery. He has healed fine.
If you asked Sam about the scar or the surgery he would say, "I went to the hospital and had surgery on my testicles but now it's normal." His scar is still very little and isn't really noticeable.
I thought I'd post this for those who didn't know about his surgery, but also because we didn't know what was wrong with Sam and had to wait a while for an answer. I shared this story with a coworker and the first thing she asked, "Did he have a third testicle?" Someone she knew had the same thing and that's how they thought it looked too. It's not a third, but it seems like it.