Taiwan woman discovers boyfriend's third 'testicle' - a tumour

No matter what kind of bedroom horror stories you might have heard, you could probably thank your lucky stars that at least it didn't go as bad as this particular couple in Taiwan.

The pair had been eagerly getting it on when the woman discovered her boyfriend had a third 'testicle'. When he went to the hospital to have it checked, the doctor simply told him they had to cut it off. 

Qiu Hongjie, the director of Asia University Hospital's urology department, recently shared the peculiar patient case with ET Today. A 30-year-old male office worker had come in one day and confessed that he had three 'testes'.

The patient, whose name was omitted to protect his identity, told Qiu that the growth had not caused him pain or itch, therefore he didn't notice it at all.

Indeed, during diagnosis, Qiu discovered an egg-shaped bump protruding from the right side of the man's scrotum, just above his testicle. Not only was it resting on the spermatic cord, but it was also had the same tissue elasticity as a regular testicle. The three 'testes' were also aligned in a strange diagonal formation.

An ultrasound and a further MRI scan revealed that the excess scrotal tissue was actually a solid cyst, though thankfully confirmed to be a benign tumour. However, Qiu was worried that should it continue to grow, it would eventually put pressure on the spermatic cord and damage or even severe his testicle.

After discussing with the patient, the two agreed to have the growth removed.

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Qiu was able to safely extract the tumour measuring 5cm, and confirmed that it was a pseudo-tumour.

He believed that the growth was the result of scrotal edema — a condition caused by trauma to the lower body or inflammation of the scrotum which caused the fibroblast layer to be on the outside. Over time, it accumulated and became a substantial pseudo-tumour.

Pseudo-tumours are rare and their causes are usually unknown. Should the patient's tumour have been malignant, his entire right testicle and the spermatic cord would have to be removed. Therefore, Qiu advised men to regularly check themselves in the shower so they can seek early treatment if necessary.

The case is currently being studied by Taiwan Urology Association.

Bizzare as it may seem, it is possible to have more than two testes. The rare congenital disorder is known as polyorchidism, and while it normally doesn't interfere with everyday life, it increases the risk of testicular cancer and the supernumerary testicle is therefore commonly removed. 

rainercheung@asiaone.com