Although hydrocelectomy is commonly performed in general urological practice, the incidence of complications and the outcomes of this procedure seem to be underreported in the literature. We evaluated the incidence of complications and the outcomes of patients who underwent hydrocelectomy.

Between January 1996 and December 2005, 289 patients with hydrocele were retrospectively assigned into three groups according to the degree of dissection or the amount of the excision of the hydrocele sac. Group 1 included 78 patients who were treated by dissection and excision of the entire hydrocele sac. Group 2 consisted of 149 patients who were treated by dissection and eversion of the hydrocele sac. The 62 patients in group 3 underwent operations in which there was little or no dissection of the hydrocele. We analyzed the complications, the effects of surgical treatment and the results according to the surgical techniques.

The duration of recovery showed no differences among the three groups. The overall complication rate was 36.3%. Transient scrotal swelling occurred in 28.0% of the patients, hematoma in 2.7%, wound infection in 1.7%, and injury to the epididymis or testis, chronic pain and persistent swelling occurred in 1.3%. The overall incidence of postoperative complications was significantly lower among the patients in group 3. The rate of scrotal swelling was significantly correlated to the volume of the hydroceles and the amount of the excision of the hydrocele sac.

The long term results of hydrocelectomy were good. The most common complications following scrotal surgery for hydroceles were scrotal swelling, hematoma, wound infection and injury to the epididymis and testis. Most of the complications were treated by conservative management.