Man with Abnormally Large Scrotum to Get Surgery

Dan Maurer, Michigan man whose abnormally large scrotum stemmed from a rare condition that physicians misdiagnosed for years, is about to get a chance at a normal life.

An online fundraiser on the Go Fund Me site raised $27,600 from more than 1,000 donors, and now Maurer, 39, is able to get the surgery he needs from Dr. Joel Gelman of the Center for Reconstructive Urology at the University of California-Irvine, The Battle Creek Enquirer reports.

The surgery is scheduled for Aug. 28.

Maurer suffers from scrotal lymphedema, a rare disorder in the United States, but for years, doctors told him he was obese. He weighed nearly 500 pounds at one point, and doctors repeatedly told him he needed to lose weight.

He did, but his scrotum continued to grow. The true cause of the condition – which Maurer said in an interview with WZZM-TV earlier this year was both embarrassing and jeopardizing his marriage – was diagnosed when he was hospitalized for an unrelated illness.

Maurer doesn’t know exactly how much his scrotum weighs, though some estimates have put it between 50-75 pounds. “I’ve never weighed it,” he said. “It’s depressing enough without weighing it.”

Maurer became familiar with Gelman’s work on a program on the TLC Network, “The Man with the 132-Pound Scrotum.”

Gelman put Maurer at east when the two met last last week.

“He basically came in, looked at me and said, ‘Is that all you’ve got?’ ” Maurer said. “It gave me a lot of confidence that he has no fear tackling this. He comes in saying, ‘I’ve done this before, and this is going to be a breeze.’ That’s the way you want your doctor going into it.”

Maurer told the Battle Creek newspaper that he’s looking forward to the day that he and his wife, Mindy, can escape for a romantic getaway to Niagara Falls.

“I want to get back to normal,” he said. “That’s the end goal.”

» Read the full story on The Battle Creek Enquirer web site.

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PHOTO: Dan Maurer, who suffers from a rare disease that caused his scrotum to grow abnormally large, will undergo surgery in California later this month to correct the problems. For years, doctors told the man he needed to lose weight. (Screenshot: WZZM-TV video)