“Goadie”
(by Lenny Armogum from The Guyana Post)
Guyanese people always make fun of situations whenever they see a person struggling to perform a task. If the person is trying to carry a heavy load, or attempting a Herculean task of pushing a car by himself, or struggling to clear snow from a driveway or sidewalk, they may say, “Make sure that you don’t get a “goadie!”. However, the Guyanese people are using the wrong term for “goadie”. “Goadie” is a name used in Guyana to describe a person with a swelling of the scrotum. The scrotum is a thin walled pouch that holds the testicles. The medical terminology of “goadie” is hydrocele, according to Dr. Francis Williams, a Guyanese born Urologist at the Brooklyn Hospital Center (TBHC). He said that a hydrocele is a fluid filled sac that surrounds the testicle, causing swelling of the scrotum in males. Since the testicle is swollen with fluid, it is not painful to the patient. Hydrocele patients may be able to hide their condition from other people by tying up the swollen testicle. Williams said that the largest hydrocele that he ever saw was one that was the size of a football. He saw this when he worked as a surgeon at a hospital in Berbice, Guyana. The Urologist also said that all infants are born with some fluid around the testicles. In most cases it goes away within a few months.
Surgery is often performed to correct a hydrocele in an adult male. This is a minor procedure using local or general anesthesia. A cut may be made in the scrotum or the lower abdomen. The fluid is then drained from the scrotum. The patient may be advised to wear a scrotal support following the surgery. Ice packs should be kept on the area for the first 24 hours after the surgery to reduce the swelling.
According to Dr. Williams, hydroceles and filaria used to be closely related. Filaria is a disease that is spread by mosquitoes. It used to be an epidemic in Guyana, India and Africa. Patients who have filaria normally have swollen feet.
Williams pointed out that a lot of people confuse a hydrocele with a hernia. A person cannot get a “goadie” from lifting heavy things, pushing cars, or clearing snow. He may obtain a hernia by heavy lifting, straining oneself, or clearing snow. Dr. Williams stated that a hernia is caused by a weakness in the groin area. This weakness happens because, as we age, our abdominal walls weaken and this causes the bowels to protrude into the scrotum. All newly discovered hernias or symptoms that suggest that you may have a hernia should prompt a visit to the doctor. Hernias, even those that hurt, if they are not tender and are easy to push back into the abdomen, are not surgical emergencies, but they have the potential to become serious. Should a patient find that he has a new, painful, tender lump, it may be possible that the person has an irreducible hernia. This hernia may cut off the blood supply to the intestines, causing intestinal strangulation. This may lead to gangrenous bowel in as little in as six hours. The hernia in this case is a surgical emergency and requires immediate medical attention.
A “goadie” is caused by fluid in the sac surrounding the testicles while hernia is intestines protruding into the scrotum.
TBHC has a Urology Department staffed with several Urologists. Patients who need to learn more about hydrocele or the Urology department should visit the website: http://www.tbh.org/ or call (718)250-6880 for an appointment
Dr. Francis Williams, Urologist from Brooklyn, NYC