How effective is testicle removal surgery for testicular cancer?

An orchidectomy is usually performed through the groin, rather than through the scrotum. The removed testicle is examined to identify the cancer type. This information, together with scans and blood tests, helps the oncology team decide whether monitoring, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or further surgery is appropriate.

Removing one testicle usually leaves the other able to make testosterone and sperm, although cancer and treatment can affect these functions. A prosthetic testicle can be discussed if appearance matters to you. The operation is highly informative and therapeutic, but it does not by itself describe or treat disease that has spread elsewhere.

Before the operation, ask about sperm banking if future fertility matters, and discuss testosterone testing if the remaining testicle may not function normally. Keep follow-up appointments so the team can review pathology, scans, and tumour-marker results.

Ask when normal activity can resume, how to support the wound, and which symptoms should trigger a call. Do not assume that feeling well means follow-up is unnecessary; testicular cancer care is guided by test results as well as symptoms.

After surgery, contact your care team for fever, worsening groin or abdominal pain, increasing swelling, bleeding, pus or spreading redness at the wound, difficulty passing urine, or persistent vomiting. Seek urgent help for sudden breathing difficulty, chest pain, or fainting.

What did the pathology show? Are my scans and blood tests consistent with disease limited to the testicle? Do I need surveillance or additional treatment? What are my fertility and testosterone options?