A RARE COMPLICATION AFTER CANCER TREATMENT: DOCTORS AT NMRRC FIGHT SCROTAL LYMPHOSTASIS

In 2020, 70-year-old Mikhail Aleksandrovich faced a malignant neoplasm of the prostate gland. The treatment was radical and included two main stages: surgical intervention (removal of the prostate gland with extended pelvic lymphodissection) and subsequent radiation therapy. However, a year later, doctors recorded the progression of the disease. New foci appeared, and the man again required treatment, including repeated radiation.

After a while Mikhail Alexandrovich began to notice pronounced changes in the state of the body. Lower extremities, scrotum and pubic area began to swell and rapidly increase in volume. This negatively affected the quality of life, prevented the fulfillment of elementary physiological needs – soft tissues in the area of external genitalia increased several times.

The man underwent a rehabilitation course, but it did not produce the expected result. The swelling of the genitals continued to increase, accompanied by pronounced discomfort when walking, difficult urination and shooting pain.

Mikhail Aleksandrovich was recommended to go to the Department of Radiation Injuries of the A. Tsyb MRRC – branch of the National Medical Research Radiology Centre of the Ministry of Health of Russian Federation. This is the only specialized unit in the country with unique experience in both surgical and conservative treatment of complications arising after radiation therapy.

“Such complications do not occur in all patients and, as a rule, are associated with individual characteristics of the body,” explains Veronika Shitareva, an oncologist at the Department of Radiation Injuries at the A. Tsyb MRRC. – In the case of Mikhail Alexandrovich we performed excision of hypertrophic edematous tissues of the scrotum with local tissue plasty, as well as removal of excess penile tissue with subsequent closure of the defect with a skin flap taken from the thigh. This is a complex, painstaking intervention in the field of reconstructive surgery. Already in the early postoperative period, the patient noted marked relief, reduction of swelling and restoration of mobility. We are sincerely happy that we were able to help him return to a fuller life”.

Now Mikhail Alexandrovich will have a path of recovery after surgery, and after it – the selection of compression knitwear on the groin and lower extremities to control swelling. This will allow him to remain active and lead a full life.