Depending on whether or not a prosthetic testicle is put in place of the original one, operating times run on average from three to six hours.
Long permanent sutures, usually silk or polypropylene, are left on the stump of the spermatic cord as a marker in case it needs to be removed in the future during a retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND).
While it is possible to remove a testicle through an incision in the scrotum, this is not done when cancer is suspected because it disrupts the natural lymphatic drainage patterns.
Cutting the skin in the scrotum may disrupt this and cancer may spread to the inguinal lymph nodes, making surveillance and subsequent operations more difficult.
The ilioinguinal nerve which runs anterior to the spermatic cord may be damaged during the operation and cause numbness over the inner thigh or chronic groin and scrotal pain.