A bloke whose scrotum grew to more than five stone (36kg) had to undergo a 14-hour operation to remove the mass.
Dan Maurer, from Battle Creek, Michigan, had a rare condition called scrotal lymphedema, which left him in constant pain and struggling to walk, shower, or even use the toilet.
Maurer was also unable to have sex with his wife Mindy for seven years, due to the growth. You can see him talk about his condition here:
Initially doctors were unable to determine the cause of Maurer’s condition and it wasn’t until he saw a TLC show titled The Man with the 132lb Scrotum, featuring a man named Wesley Warren, that he finally began to get some answers.
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Maurer then reached out to Warren’s doctor Dr Joel Gelman, at UC Irvine Medical Centre, who later gave him the formal diagnosis of scrotal lymphedema.
Having a diagnosis meant that Maurer could finally be treated for the condition and in 2014, he underwent a gruelling 14-hour long operation that involved a team of eight surgeons and 12 support staff.
In total, medics removed around 80lbs (36kg) of tissue from Maurer’s scrotum - they also took around 70lbs (31kg) of fat from his stomach.
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Maurer featured on his own TLC show, Dan’s 80lb Testicle, with a synopsis that read: “Dan Maurer and his wife Mindy’s lives were turned upside down seven years ago when Dan’s scrotum started growing uncontrollably, reaching a staggering 80lbs.”
Following his surgery, Maurer was able to get back to living a more normal life and found tasks such as walking and having ‘marital relations’ a lot easier.
Speaking to USA Today after his operation, Maurer said he hoped to bring more awareness to the problem, which he believes is more common than people realise.
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"It's not as rare as people think," he said. "Most of them aren't as severe as mine, but Gelman probably has 50 patients a year.
"We need to talk about it. We didn't talk about breast cancer 20 years ago.
"I just want to help educate people.”
In an interview with the Daily Mail in 2015, Dr Gelman said: “Massive scrotal lymphedema is a rare condition.
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“At the University of California, Irvine, we have treated men with this condition successfully for many years on occasion.
“However, after the Wesley Warren story became a news story, many more men like Mr Maurer became aware of our expertise in Male Reconstructive Urology and our volume has increased, but it is hard to truly know the incidence.
“Massive scrotal lymphedema is usually best treated with a major surgery to remove the mass of tissue while preserving the penis and testicles.”
Topics: Health
Claire Reid