"Operations for epidydimal cyst and hydrocele"

Cyst caused right scrotum to be twice normal size.

After a brief, rough, inspection in mid-2010, I was placed on waiting list. After 18 weeks, with size now x4, referred to Nuffield Hospital in Plymouth. With no advice or information about probable result, I had an operation in December, after which the surgeon said:

1. The operation was OK

2. I would think that cyst had not been removed.

3. Condition might take some months to recover and

4. He did not wish to see me further.

I was horrified to find that my scrotum was now x10! By late January, with no improvement, I saw my GP who diagnosed a hydrocele. Consultant confirmed this, saying that it was a separate episode.

As it occurred immediately after the operation, and in the same location, I feel that cause and effect are undeniable. I was placed on the list again, marked "urgent". I was now unable to dress, walk or even sit properly.

When asked, the urology department stated that the delay would still be 18 weeks, but the Benenden Health Society arranged for my operation in the Nuffied in April.

I had a consultation, only to find it was with the same surgeon I had seen a month earlier. After the second operation, the size reverted to x6 for about 5 weeks, before reducing to the current x4, which was its size for the follow-up appointment, when I was discharged. I am about to see my GP again to find out what to do next.

My complaints are:

1. No pre-operative advice, which might have prepared me for the result.

2. No follow-up appointment, which would have meant earlier diagnosis.

3. I dispute the statement that the hydrocele was a separate episode - the two conditions seuged with no discernable break.

4. I have waited a further 6 months for any improvement, but would have expected a further follow-up appointment.

(I concede that the fourth item was in reference to private treatment, not the NHS, but it was the same team.)