Wesley Warren Jr., a 49-year-old Las Vegas resident, is living with a rare medical condition called scrotal lymphedema. The condition causes blockage in the scrotum's lymphatic vessels, and the testicles can gain up to three pounds of mass per month. Untreated, the scrotum will continue to increase in size. In Warren's case, his testicles grew to be 132 pounds.
For Wesley Warren Jr., it all began in 2008, when he awoke to a shooting pain in his testicles. The tissue around his penis soon began to swell, but he didn't treat it because he didn't have insurance. After it clearly became something to worry about, one doctor even told Warren that it might be necessary to castrate him to fix the problem; others told him that he would probably die on the operating table. And the cost of the surgery alone would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"I miss just doing simple things, such as going to the post office and shopping at the supermarket," Warren said. "I miss not being able to drive if I want to. It's almost like being in prison, in solitary confinement."
Thankfully, though, Warren didn't have to make those changes for life, since a doctor in California was able to come to his aid. Offering to do the surgery needed for free, the doctor successfully removed the 132.5-lb. growth after 13 hours in the operating room.
Warren made a speedy recovery and, five weeks after the surgery, drove out to a mountain overlook to watch the "enormously breathtaking" sunset behind Las Vegas. "Oh, God, what f*cking beauty," he raved. "If somehow, some way, I can stumble upon love ... I think I can one day be happy."
TLC heard about his case and put together a special called ""The Man With The 132-Lb. Scrotum" which took a look at how Warren had to adapt to his awkward anatomy, and the steps that could be taken to improve his life. This were some of the things we learned from the special:
1) He wore a hooded sweatshirt as pants, using the hood as a makeshift scrotum sling.
2) Warren had little luck seeking medical treatment, with doctors estimating he would need a $1 million procedure to fix his condition. To get the money he needed, he even appealed to the listeners of "The Howard Stern show" for help.
3) A producer of The Dr. Oz Show made him an offer for free surgery in 2011. In exchange for putting together a surgical team, the program would gain exclusive rights to his story. Warren declined, citing fears. "I'm not sure they are the best doctors," he said in November 2011. "I might be castrated or bleed out on the operating table."
4) He said Americans need better access to health care. "Right now, we have one party in this country that can stifle everything," he told The Huffington Post. "I actually get where the Republicans are coming from. But we've become what the old Soviet Union used to be, a country that can't meet the basic needs of its people. That's sad."
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