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Case Report
Rare case of thrombosed varicocele causing severe scrotal and groin pain
1 Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2 Canterbury Hospital, Department of General Surgery, Sydney, NSW, Australia
3 Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
4 The University of Notre Dame Australia, School of Medicine Sydney Campus, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Address correspondence to:
David Gregory Tighe
Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW,
Australia
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Article ID: 100142Z12DT2024
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How to cite this article
Tighe DG, Ziaziaris W, Halder T. Rare case of thrombosed varicocele causing severe scrotal and groin pain. J Case Rep Images Surg 2024;10(2):14–17.ABSTRACT
Introduction: Thrombosed varicocele is an abnormal enlargement of the veins within the scrotum, which has developed a blood clot. This condition is relatively rare and can cause significant discomfort or pain. Here we present the case of a male in his early twenties with left-sided groin and scrotal pain shown to be caused by a thrombosed varicocele.
Case Report: A male in his twenties presented to the emergency department with five days of left-sided groin and scrotal pain. An outpatient ultrasound (US) one day prior to presentation demonstrated a reducible, left-sided indirect inguinal hernia and normal testes. Physical examination on presentation demonstrated a firm, tender, irreducible, left groin lump along the spermatic cord. However, no inguinal or femoral hernia was appreciable on physical examination on both supine and standing examinations. After careful consideration, a decision was made not to operate on this incidental, asymptomatic, image-detected small fatty hernia. A repeat inpatient US of the testes and scrotum was performed which did not show sonographic evidence of acute epididymo-orchitis, or inguinal lymphadenopathy. Repeat physical examinations again did not demonstrate clinical evidence of a hernia. A targeted US of the lump posterior to spermatic cord structures was performed, which demonstrated a thrombosed varicocele is an abnormal enlargement of the veins within the scrotum that has developed a blood clot. This condition is relatively rare and can cause significant pain.
Conclusion: Thrombosed varicocele is a rare cause of groin and scrotal pain that can produce a diagnostic challenge.
Keywords: Groin pain, Scrotal pain, Surgery, Thrombosis, Varicocele
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Author Contributions
David Gregory Tighe - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
William Ziaziaris - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Tushar Halder - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guarantor of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2024 David Gregory Tighe et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
