You’ll also likely need to complete one year (12 consecutive months) of hormone therapy before you undergo an orchiectomy. The procedure will take 30 to 60 minutes. Before surgery begins, your doctor will use local anesthesia to numb the area or general anesthesia to make you fall asleep so you don’t feel anything.
Full Answer
What should I do before having an orchiectomy?
There are some things that must be accomplished before having an orchiectomy. This includes undergoing a physical exam and getting blood work done to ensure good health before undergoing the procedure.
When is orchiectomy recommended for testicular cancer treatment?
A healthcare professional may also recommend orchiectomy to treat: 1 an undescended testicle after puberty 2 severe trauma to the testicle 3 testicular torsion, which occurs when the spermatic cord becomes twisted, restricting blood supply to the testicle
What is orchiectomy surgery used for?
Orchiectomy (Testicle Removal Surgery): Purpose, Procedure, Recovery Orchiectomy is surgery to remove one or both testicles. It's used to treat testicular and other cancers.
What are the side effects of an orchiectomy?
Some potential side effects associated with orchiectomy include: 1 loss of muscle mass 2 hot flashes 3 fatigue 4 decreased sexual interest 5 gynecomastia, or breast enlargement
What kind of chemo is used for testicular cancer?
The chemo regimens most commonly used as the first treatment for testicular cancer are: BEP (or PEB): bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin. EP: etoposide and cisplatin. VIP: VP-16 (etoposide) or vinblastine plus ifosfamide and cisplatin.
Does chemo happen before surgery?
Chemotherapy is sometimes given before surgery (known as neoadjuvant therapy or preoperative chemotherapy) to shrink larger cancers. This may: Allow the surgeon the best chance of removing the cancer completely. Enable the surgeon to remove only the cancer, rather than the entire breast.
Why is chemo used before surgery?
The aim of chemotherapy before surgery is to shrink a tumour so that you need less surgery, or to make it easier to get all the cancer out. Shrinking the cancer with chemotherapy might also mean that you can have radiotherapy to a smaller area of your body.
Do you need chemo for testicular cancer?
You may require chemotherapy if you have advanced testicular cancer or it's spread within your body. It's also used to help prevent the cancer returning. Chemotherapy is commonly used to treat seminomas and non-seminoma tumours. Chemotherapy medicines for testicular cancer are usually injected into a vein.
How long is chemo before surgery?
But when mentioned, a surgery between 2 and 5 weeks after the last chemotherapy cycle was recommended (11-13). In the clinic, accepted practice is to perform surgery when the neutropenic window is overcome, normally resulting in a 3- to 4-week interval.
Why do oncologists push chemo?
An oncologist may recommend chemotherapy before and/or after another treatment. For example, in a patient with breast cancer, chemotherapy may be used before surgery, to try to shrink the tumor. The same patient may benefit from chemotherapy after surgery to try to destroy remaining cancer cells.
How soon after neoadjuvant chemo do most get surgery?
One of the therapy strategies is the neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) which allows disease downstaging and higher rates of breast-conserving therapy [2]. According to German guidelines, the operation following NACT should be performed 2–4 weeks after the end of NACT to bypass the leukocyte nadir [3].
How many rounds of chemo is normal?
During a course of treatment, you usually have around 4 to 8 cycles of treatment. A cycle is the time between one round of treatment until the start of the next. After each round of treatment you have a break, to allow your body to recover.
How is neoadjuvant chemotherapy administered?
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is administered in cycles, with each cycle consisting of a treatment period followed by a resting phase. Chemotherapy agents are given orally or intravenously in cycles spanning between 3 to 6 months.
Does testicular cancer respond well to chemo?
Chemotherapy is very effective in treating testicular cancer patients. Good risk patients who undergo combination chemotherapy for three cycles have a cure rate of more than 95 percent.
What is the most common treatment for testicular cancer?
Depending on the type and stage of the cancer, as well as other factors, treatment options for testicular cancer can include:Surgery for Testicular Cancer.Radiation Therapy for Testicular Cancer.Chemotherapy for Testicular Cancer.High-Dose Chemotherapy and Stem Cell Transplant for Testicular Cancer.
Can you cure testicular cancer without removing testicle?
Just because you are diagnosed with testicular cancer does not mean that you will lose a testicle. Removal of the affected testicle is the most common treatment, but it is not the only one.
What is the purpose of radical inguinal orchiectomy?
Radical inguinal orchiectomy helps in diagnosis, is curative in early disease, and helps in risk-stratification of these patients. The management of testicular germ-cell tumours (GCTs) is determined by histological finding in the orchiectomy specimen and the extent of disease at the time of diagnosis.
Is a GCT a chemo sensitive tumour?
A germ-cell tumour (GCT) of the testis is a chemosensitive tumour with high cure rates even in advanced disease. Radical inguinal orchiectomy is the initial procedure used to diagnose it which helps to risk-stratify these patients. However, in patients with life-threatening metastases, primary chemotherapy was attempted in a few studies, followed by delayed orchiectomy. The aim of this review is to study the histopathological findings of delayed orchiectomy and the retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) specimens, to assess difference and concordance in response rates in histological types of GCTs in pathological specimens. Overall, 352 patients received initial chemotherapy followed by orchiectomy, and 235 of them had undergone RPLND. Delayed orchiectomy specimens had viable tumour in 74 (21%) patients, scarring/necrosis in 171 patients (48.5%), and teratoma in 107 (30.3%) patients. RPLND specimens had residual disease in 36 (15.3%) patients, scarring/necrosis in 100 patients (42.5%), and teratoma in 99 patients (42.3%). Patients with seminoma who underwent delayed orchiectomy had complete disappearance of tumour in 81.3% of cases, and in non-seminomatous GCT, it was 43.4%. These results raise the question of the existence of a blood–testis barrier in patients with advanced GCT and argue against the testis as a sanctuary site.
What is the procedure to do before an orchiectomy?
This includes undergoing a physical exam and getting blood work done to ensure good health before undergoing the procedure.
Why do you need an orchiectomy?
An orchiectomy may be performed to treat various types of cancer, such as prostate or male breast cancer. 3 This is because the testicles produce testosterone, which is a hormone that can cause some types of cancer to metastasize (spread) faster. 4
What is the treatment for testicular cancer?
The primary standard of care for treating testicular cancer is radical orchidectomy. However, according to John Hopkins Medicine, there are “a couple of circumstances where testis-sparing surgery is advocated.” 6
What happens after bilateral orchiectomy?
This depends on many variables. After a bilateral orchiectomy, the body will not be able to produce sperm and the testosterone level will fall to a very low level. (Some testosterone is still produced by the adrenal glands, but it is a minimal amount.)
What is the procedure to remove the testis?
Simple Orchiectomy. This procedure is the standard technique to remove the testis in most cases except for testis cancer. The surgery starts off by a surgeon temporarily securing the penis to the abdomen (to keep it out of the way of the incision site).
What type of anesthesia is used during an orchiectomy?
The type of anesthesia that may be used during an orchiectomy include either a general type anesthesia (where the person is unconscious) or a spinal block (the person is awake, but does not have any sensation from the waist down during the procedure). 7
How long does it take to perform an orchiectomy?
Types of Surgery. An orchiectomy is typically performed on an outpatient basis, and it typically takes between 30 minutes to one hour to perform. There are several different types of orchiectomies. The type of procedure depends on the medical condition being treated and what the treatment goal is.
What is an orchiectomy?
Complications and risks. Summary. Orchiectomy is a surgical procedure that removes one or both testicles. Healthcare professionals use orchiectomy to treat testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and male breast cancer. Transgender women may also choose orchiectomy before undergoing gender affirming surgery.
Why do people have orchiectomy?
Healthcare professionals use orchiectomy to treat testicular, prostate, and breast cancer in males. Transgender women can also elect to participate in orchiectomy as part of their male-to-female transition. In one 2016 observational study. Trusted Source.
What is the procedure to remove the testicles?
Orchiectomy is a surgical procedure that removes one or both testicles. Depending on the type of orchiectomy a person undergoes, a surgeon may also remove the spermatic cord and the tissue surrounding the testicles.
What is subcapsular orchiectomy?
Subcapsular orchiectomy is a testis-sparing procedure that only removes the tissue surrounding the testicles.
How do you remove testicles?
Simple orchiectomy. During simple orchiectomy, a surgeon will remove one or both testicles and a portion of the spermatic cord through a small incision in the scrotum. Depending on the person’s preference, the surgeon can insert a prosthetic testicle before closing the incision.
What is the medical clearance for orchiectomy?
Individuals who wish to undergo orchiectomy as part of their male-to-female transition will need a medical clearance letter from their primary doctor. This letter states that the individual can give consent to participate in the operation. It also indicates that they are physically prepared for the procedure.
How long does it take to go home after an orchiectomy?
When an orchiectomy procedure occurs on an outpatient basis, the person can go home within a few hours. However, they will need to return for a follow-up so that a healthcare professional can evaluate their recovery. People may experience some discomfort and soreness after an orchiectomy procedure.
Why do you need an orchiectomy?
Why Get Orchiectomy? It's usually needed to treat testicular cancer. But it can also help if a testicle is damaged by infection or injury. Sometimes it's part of prostate cancer treatment. If doctors suspect testicular cancer, they will likely order an ultrasound test first to check for non-cancer causes.
Why is it called a radical inguinal orchiectomy?
It's called "radical" because it removes the spermatic cord along with the testicle and tumor.
What test is done to check for testicular cancer?
If doctors suspect testicular cancer, they will likely order an ultrasound test first to check for non-cancer causes. Blood tests may also be ordered to help diagnose testicular cancer.
What happens if you have cancer after surgery?
Follow the directions you get from your doctor. If you had surgery due to cancer, you may have to have chemotherapy or radiation to lower the chances that any leftover cancer cells will spread. Life After Surgery. Having one or both testicles removed can change the way you feel about your body.
Can you have sex with one testicle removed?
There will be a small scar, but your pubic hair can help hide it. If you still have one testicle, you should still be able to get an erection and have sex. If both are removed, your body won't be able to make sperm . If you want to have children, you may want to store sperm before the procedure.
Can an orchiectomy remove both testicles?
In a simple orchiectomy, the doctor only removes one or both testicles. This surgery can ease symptoms, prevent problems from prostate cancer, and treat male breast cancer.
Lost both balls
I'm just 20 and lost my both testicles. My girlfriend left me. I'm dying inside.
Finding the humor in the tumor
Seven weeks ago, I went to the doctor’s with back pain and was diagnosed with testicular cancer that had already spread to the lungs and spine. Since then, I’ve had the tumor ) and a testicle removed), frozen my sperm and just finished my second round of chemo.
Relapse after 9 years in remission
I was diagnosed with stage 1B testicular cancer in 2012 when I was 18 years old.
Abstract
Introduction
- Testicular cancer is a relatively rare malignancy with an incidence of 1–1.5% of male neoplasms in western countries and an incidence of 0.9% of male neoplasms in India [1, 2]. With the advances in imaging, surgical techniques, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy for testicular cancer, there is a steady increase in the survival rate, with a cure rate of 95% in patients with testicular c…
Materials and Methods
- The following electronic databases were used for the literature search: Medline (1950–2012) and the Cochrane database. Then, a search was performed using the following search terms: primary chemotherapy for GCTs of testis, delayed orchiectomy, and advanced GCTs. After identifying relevant articles, the abstracts were studied and full articles were retrieved when the informatio…
Study Selection Criteria
- Only articles published in English were considered. Single-case reports and reports with less than five cases were excluded from the study. The following parameters were assessed: response to chemotherapy at primary and metastatic site, the final histopathology at primary and in resected specimens of metastatic site. An attempt was made to contact the authors if there were incomp…
Results
- After a literature search, 1484 records were obtained, of which 1422 records were excluded initially because of non-reliability and duplication (Figure 1). Of the available 62 records, 49 records were excluded based on the abstract. The full manuscripts of 13 articles were reviewed by the authors. Three of these were found to be continuations of previous studies [6, 7, 10], two …
Discussion
- Various clinical observations had led to the concept of BTB. Even after completion of immune surveillance, sperms express new antigens, but they are recognised as self-antigens and no antibodies are produced against them. Hence, the testis is considered an immune-privileged site [15]. In addition, in childhood leukaemia, most relapses occur in the brain and testis, which furth…
Unanswered Questions
- Whether these patients can be considered for postchemotherapy surveillance or partial orchidectomy is still an area of investigation. A study by Kopecky et al [28], where postchemotherapy an ultrasound examination was performed, showed correlation of ultrasound with pathological examination. Whether this approach will be useful for patients with pure semin…
Conclusion
- Although there are studies supporting the BTB, this review raises the clinical significance of this, with good responses occurring in the testis, similar to the RPLN sites. At the moment, orchiectomy is to be recommended in all cases, as residual disease was found in a certain per cent of cases in orchiectomy specimens on histopathological examination. We do not yet have e…
References
- 1. Richie JP (1997) Neoplasms of the Testis ed Walsh PC Campbell’s Urology7th ed (Philadelphia, PA: W B Saunders) pp. 2411–52 2.WHO’s Certified [Internet] GLOBOCAN 2008 Estimated cancer incidence, mortality, prevalence and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) Worldwide in 2008 Available from http://globocan.iarc.fr/factsheet.asp 3. Bosl GJ and Motzer RJ (1997) Testicular …
Purpose of An Orchiectomy
Types of Surgery
- An orchiectomy is typically performed on an outpatient basis, and it typically takes between 30 minutes to one hour to perform. There are several different types of orchiectomies. The type of procedure depends on the medical condition being treated and what the treatment goal is.
How to Prepare
- There are some things that must be accomplished before having an orchiectomy. This includes undergoing a physical exam and getting blood work done to ensure good health before undergoing the procedure. You should also inform the healthcare provider of any medications (including over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and supplements) you are taking. In addition …
Recovery
- After the surgery, a person can expect to go home with a few stitches in the groin and/or scrotum area. The discomfort will most likely be noticed in the groin and scrotum for a week or so, but if the pain is severe, the healthcare provider should be notified right away. Ice will also help with any pain you are experiencing. After a few days of keeping the incision area dry, you will be able to w…
Possible Side Effects
- Because the testicles are the primary source of testosterone in the body, lower testosterone can occur after orchiectomy. If testosterone is low, there are several long-term side effects which may occur and these are more pronounced if both testicles are removed, or whether they are simultaneously undergoing chemotherapy. These potential side effects include:10 1. Loss of mu…
Other Questions
- Is there a lot of pain after the surgery? People have been interviewed on their experiences after getting orchiectomies. Some said they did not experience very much discomfort at all, whereas others said discomfort lasted for multiple weeks after the procedure. Some also reported that the scar in the groin area was "tender for a while after surgery." Will I still have normal fertility if I los…