​Hydrocele

Hydrocele is a sac filled with fluid that forms around the testicles which causes swelling in the scrotum. The swelling is painless and disappears without any treatment. Hydrocele is fairly common in newborns and develops before birth, but it can occur at any age. In uterus, a baby’s testicles descend from the abdomen into the scrotum. Each testicle has an accompanying fluid filled sac. Usually, the sac closes itself and the fluid is absorbed. But this doesn’t happen for babies with hydrocele. There are two kinds of hydroceles:

• Non-communicating hydrocele in which the fluid remains in the sac after it has closed

• Communicating hydrocele in which the sac remains open allowing flow of fluid in and out of the abdomen