Man Diagnosed With Scrotal Elephantiasis Finally Gets Help When His News Got To His Governor's Wife

A man has undergone life-saving surgery to reduce the size of his 11lbs testicles and three foot penis that had grown so large he couldn't wear normal clothes.

Horace Owiti Opiyo, known as Forence to friends, was left with testicles twenty times the average size after a growth continued to get larger despite surgery to remove it.

The 20-year-old first noticed a cyst on his genitals in 2006 and had surgery in 2007 but the growth came back and his penis grew to almost a metre long, weighing 5kgs.


He dropped out of school because of the condition and was later diagnosed with scrotal elephantiasis.


This can be caused by a mosquito bite injecting larvae into the bloodstream, which then grow into parasitic worms blocking the body's drainage system and causing swelling.

The condition left Forence, who is from Kibigori, Kenya, in extreme agony and prevented him from living a normal life.

Unable to afford an operation he tried herbal remedies but to no success.

It was only when his story was put on social media that he got the help he needed.

Speaking about the first time he noticed the cyst, he said: "This thing started very small, like a boil. Then it was the size of my fist.

“It just continued to grow bigger and bigger."

Forence's condition meant he had to drop out of school because his testicles grew so large that he could no longer wear clothes or walk easily.

He was also teased by his classmates and was unable to afford any more surgery so spent more time at home with his brother Eliza and elderly grandmother, Salina. His parents died when he was five.

In an attempt to help, his neighbour, Duncan Otieno, took photographs and put the story on Facebook.

The post went viral overnight and reached the Kisumu county Governor’s wife, Olivia Ranguma, who asked a doctor to access Forence’s condition and an ambulance was sent for him straight away.

Doctors at Jaramogioginga Odinga Hospital examined Forence and diagnosed him with Scrotal elephantiasis.

Forence had two operations to reduce the size of his scrotum and reconstruct his penis so that it is usable.

Fortunately, the operation was a success and has changed the 20-year-old's life.

He now hopes to start a family one day after being told he has functioning testicles.

He said: “When I got up I was surprised that my body was so light. All the heaviness had gone.

“I’m swimming now. I couldn’t go anywhere near the water because of the heaviness of that thing.

“Now I can run and I can play football.

“Now I’m free!”

He added: “I’m trying as much as possible to build myself up so that I can have a wife. But the next step I want to take is to get an education.

“Who knows what will happen in the future?”