What Causes Lumps In Epididymis Post Vasectomy Reversal?

Posted on Fri, 12 Jun 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 12 Jun 2015 Answered on

Thu, 2 Jul 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I had a vasectomy reversal a month ago. I did it because I had fought post-vasectomy pain for 10 years following my vasectomy. One particular problem was hard lumps spontaneously forming in my epididymis, that would diminish over time but would be painful while present. Only one would form at a time, rarely on both sides at the same time. Well, five weeks after the reversal and one of those small, hard lumps has appeared on my left testicle, not at incision or reversal site. And it is painful. What could this be? Does it mean the reversal did not work?

Answered by Dr. Chobufo Ditah (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Vasectomy reversal succèss rates are less than 70% after 3years!

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.

I am so sorry to hear about this spontaneous lumps that you have been experiencing since you had vasectomy. This is basically caused by sperms being unable to flow out and causing accumulation and lumps. They are not infections but represent collection of sperms. The success rates for vasectomy are so low. Though too early to conclude at this time whether the reversal worked or not, it could be one of the explanations. I will suggest that you exercise more patience and also see if the frequency of these painful lumps is the same or not. It might not have worked entirely but would have helped in a way to reduce the frequency and severity of these symptoms of painful lumps. Keep a positive midst and let’s see what we would get with more time as it is too so to make definitive statements about the success or failure of this procedure.

I hope this helps. I wish you well. Thanks for using our services and do feel free to ask for more information and clarifications if need be.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar