This isn’t what’s typically meant by a breaking ball in baseball. But Athletics shortstop Joshua Kuroda-Grauer experienced quite a curveball during the fifth inning of last Monday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 23-year-old rookie infielder hit a ball that went very foul—right into his groin. That ended up rupturing one of his testicles, which in turn required emergency surgery.
Kroda-Grauser Kept Playing After HIs Ruptured Testicle
What’s quite striking about this case is that Kuroda-Grauer actually continued playing for a little while after that very foul ball. He did collapse because that’s what you tend to do when hit in that area. However, he then got back up again as that Chumbawamba song goes and proceeded to hit the next pitch for a single. Not only that, Kuroda-Grauer stayed on the field for another half-inning before the continuing pain forced him to exit the game. Although it was origonally suspected that he just had a testicular contusion, an ultrasound did revealed that he had a ruptured testicle. Hours later, he underwent emergency surgery to repair it.
This was a don’t-do-this-at-home moment. If you’ve been clobbered in the groin in some way, don’t continue whatever you’ve been doing until you are sure that the pain and swelling is not persistent. When it comes to your genitals, err on the side of caution and get them checked out by a real health professional if your symptoms don’t resolve quickly. After all, it’s not as if you can order replacement genitals on Amazon.
A Ruptured Testicle Is Typically Very, Very, Very, Very Painful
The primary symptom of a ruptured testicle is pain. Anyone who’s been hit in the scrotum in any way knows how painful that can be. Imagine then having one of your testicles hit so hard that the tough fibrous tissue layer that surrounds the testicle gets torn open—kind of like tearing through an orange peel. This fibrous covering is known as the tunica albuginea, which means “white coat” in Latin. Ripping this “white” apart can then be very, very, very, very—did I mention”very”—painful.
Your testicle may also fee funny. Not funny in a ha-ha way but funny in terms of a deformed shape or unusual texture of consistency. There also may be significant swelling.
A Ruptured Testicle Can Lead To Sensitive Tissue Being Exposed And Bleeding
But pain and a funny shaped testicle aren’t the only problems. Each of your testicles does have a lot of sensitive and important tissue that produce sperm and testosterone, as I’ve described before in Forbes. Tearing through the “white coat” can then leave such tissue exposed and very susceptible to damage. Therefore, it is important to repair such tears as soon as possible.
Plus, such tearing can tear through blood vessels at the same time, leading to bleeding, bleeding and more bleeding. That can lead to the loss of quite a lot of blood, which can lead to further damage. The accumulation of blood in the area can also compress the tissue, creating further injury and damage. The longer you wait, the more likely permanent damage to the testicle becomes. So, remember, there is no such thing as mildly ruptured testicle.
A Ruptured Testicle Calls For Emergency Surgical Repair
For these reasons, time is of the essence in getting the ruptured testicle surgically repaired. Surgical repair entails opening the scrotum to expose the exploded testicle, stopping any bleeding, removing any dead tissue, tucking the testicle back into the scrotum and sewing the tunica albuginea back together. An ultrasound can check whether normal blood flow has been restored through the testicle.
The objective, naturally, is to save as much of the testicle as possible. This gets tougher and tougher the longer it takes to get the person to surgery and the more the blood vessels have been damaged. At some point the testicle may not have enough viable tissue or blood supply to be saved, forcing the surgeon to remove the entire testicle.
It looks like surgery was successful in repairing Kuroda-Grauer’s exploded testicle. Martín Gallegos writing on the Major League Baseball website described Kuroda-Grauer as resting comfortably at the hospital on Tuesday and quoted A’s manager Mark Kotsay as saying that the rookie infielder was in “great spirits.”
Recovery From Repair Of A Ruptured Testicle Takes At Least Two Weeks
Once you get the testicle repaired, your pain may get better. But that doesn’t mean that you can simply return to having a ball. Time is needed—usually at least two weeks—for everything to heal enough so that it doesn’t get ripped back apart. So, it’s best to wait a while before engaging in any strenuous activity.
The longer term effects of the ruptured testicle does depend on how much of the testicle can be preserved. The testicle may end up being smaller due to either removed tissue or decreased testosterone or sperm production. This may not affect the person’s overall testosterone levels and sperm counts, as the uninjured testicle may be able to compensate.
How Do You Prevent A Ruptured Testicle
The best way to prevent a ruptured testicle is to not get hit in the testicles. This may be easier said that done when playing some type of contact or ball sport. Wearing a cup can help protect your testicles. And naturally you should never lead with your testicles when doing anything.
Fortunately, testicular ruptures are relatively rare. So, you don’t have to go into any activity necessarily worrying, “What if I rupture my testicle? What if I rupture my testicle?”