Who estimates that 25 million men experience genital disease. Inguinal hernia and lymphatic filariasis are two of the most frequent surgical diseases in Africa; in Mozambique and other sub-Saharan countries there are many cases of genital elephantiasis, caused by lymphatic obstruction and overload.
In medium- and low-income countries, serious cases often occur at the end stage of the disease due to a weak and inefficient health system; this is aggravated by the patients’ lack of trust in the country’s health system that can lead to delaying the suggested treatment for years. The treatment for elephantiasis is surgical removal.
The article describes the case of a patient with a severe case of elephantiasis treated at the Central Hospital of Beira in Mozambique. The surgery varied from the standard procedure because the patient also presented with chronic fibrosis.