Multiple mesotheliomas of the hydrocele sac: a case report

Our plain-English summary of Multiple mesotheliomas of the hydrocele sac: a case report, by C.L. Reynolds (The Journal of Urology, 1958).

The study

• Author: C.L. Reynolds
• Journal: The Journal of Urology
• Published: 1958;79(1):134-7
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 9 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This 1958 article reported a single case from the Veterans Administration Hospital in Dallas, Texas. It concerned tumors the author called "so-called mesotheliomas, or adenomatoid tumors" of the genitourinary system. The article does not mention asbestos or any other exposure. The patient, a 45-year-old man, was admitted in 1956 with a mass about 10 cm across in the right scrotum. He had first noticed it about 15 years earlier, and it had been growing over the previous year. At operation, about 400 cc of fluid was removed from a hydrocele sac (a fluid-filled sac around the testicle). Numerous hard nodular growths were found on the sac wall, two of them on the testicle's surface. The sac was removed and the testicle biopsied. Under the microscope the growths were lined by a single layer of mesothelial cells, and the diagnosis was multiple mesotheliomas of the hydrocele sac. The biopsy was normal, and no recurrence was seen six months later. The author reported the case believing it may be unique.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: case report (single patient)
• Who was studied: One 45-year-old man (described in the article as "colored") admitted to the Veterans Administration Hospital, Dallas, Texas, on September 17, 1956
• Exposure: None reported. The article does not mention asbestos or any occupational or environmental exposure. The patient's history was described as unremarkable apart from the scrotal mass.
• Main results:
  • The patient had a mass about 10 cm in diameter in the right scrotum with the consistency of a hydrocele
  • The mass was first noticed about 15 years before admission, when it was the size of a marble, and had grown progressively over the year before admission
  • The patient's Wassermann test was positive; other laboratory work was normal
  • At operation, about 400 cc of fluid was removed from a hydrocele sac
  • Numerous hard nodular growths were on the sac wall, and two were on the surface of the testicle
  • The polypoid lesions on the removed sac ranged from a few millimeters to 1.5 cm in size
  • Under the microscope, a single layer of mesothelial cells lined the papillary formations of the lesions
  • The diagnosis was multiple mesotheliomas of the hydrocele sac
  • The testicular biopsy was normal
  • At examination six months after surgery, no recurrence was seen
• The authors' conclusion: The author reported the case of multiple mesotheliomas of the tunica vaginalis believing it may be unique.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma, Hydrocele.

Related studies

• Malignant Mesothelioma of the Tunica Vaginalis Testis-A Malignancy Associated With Asbestos Exposure and Trauma: A Case Report and Literature Review — A.A. Baqui, N.A. Boire, et al. (2019)
• Paratesticular malignant mesothelioma associated with abdominoscrotal hydrocele — A.L. Velasco, J. Ophoven, et al. (1988)
• Pre-operative diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma of tunica vaginalis testis by hydrocele fluid cytology — S.C. Gupta, A.K. Gupta, et al. (1998)
• Testicular mesothelioma disguised as hydrocele: a case report — T. Nazar, A. Gopalakrishnabhaktan, et al. (2024)
• Biphasic malignant mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis — K.C. Saw, T.H. Barker, et al. (1994)
• Mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis: a series of eight cases with uncertain malignant potential — F. Brimo, P.B. Illei, et al. (2010)

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