Many different funny sounds can come out of the human body. Of course, these noises are mostly okay. But sometimes these sounds can also be a sign that something is wrong. Even the more benign ones, like a cheerful whistle, are not welcome when they come from the wrong place.
According to an article published last month in the American Journal of Case Reports, a 72-year-old man who had recently had a scrotal incision and drainage for recurrent epididymitis was diagnosed with a local complaint mainly of ‘whistling scrotum (testicular area)’ and dyspnea (shortness of breath). admitted to the emergency room.
In this rather odd case report, the authors write, “This case report describes a patient with an open scrotal wound from a recent scrotal procedure that allowed air to escape from the abdominal chamber, causing ‘scrotal whistling’.”
This case, the authors explained, was “a unique presentation of a co-existence in pulmonology/critical care,” that is, the result of a collapsed lung or pneumothorax.
Of course, a “collapsed lung” is a bit of a misnomer, as the lungs work the opposite of what you might expect. A collapsed lung is the result of airflow entering the space between the lungs and chest wall rather than actually “collapsed.”
Under normal circumstances, the result of this condition is that the patient experiences severe chest pain, has difficulty breathing, and even turns blue. However, as you can imagine, the conditions in this case were not normal.
As the case report states, “[A] chest CT revealed bilateral pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, and severe subcutaneous emphysema of the abdomen, perineum, and scrotum. Her scrotum was an open wound without any major edema or air entrapment within the scrotum.”
In other words, this man was filled with air. Although doctors said they did not know exactly how it happened, the air surrounding the collapsed lung had for some reason spread into the space between his lungs, the space around his other lung, and the tissues under the skin of the patient’s abdomen and groin areas.
The patient had an “open scrotal wound” from a previous surgery. The patient’s condition also caused the air in his stomach to come out of the hole here and make a sound that made him want to go to the hospital.
Fortunately, the patient recovered after doctors placed bilateral chest tubes and subcutaneous airways to drain air from the tissues around her lungs and under her skin. The air in his groin and thighs lasted a little longer and the patient needed a second scrotal surgery, but the problem eventually resolved completely.
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