Photo: heraldsun.com.au

A Las Vegas man with a medical condition that has caused his scrotum to swell to more than 45 kilograms is trying to raise $1 million for surgery to correct it.

Wesley Warren Jr, went public about his condition – scrotal elephantiasis – because he is desperate to try and raise the cash for the costly operation.
Warren's scrotum is so large that he has trouble walking and using the bathroom.

"It's not easy to get around," he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "It makes me stay in most of the time."

The 47-year-old, who developed the rare condition three years ago, said he has regular bouts of depression.

"I want to have real friends and a relationship with a woman," he told the paper. "But I'm not suicidal. I'm too strong for that."

Although he knew some people would laugh at his condition, Warren decided to go on Howard Stern's radio and cable TV show to raise awareness of his plight.

"I don't like being a freak, who would?" he said. "But I figured that the Stern show is listened to by millions of people and they might want to help me. I hope some millionaire or billionaire will want to help me."

His condition is rarely seen outside of the tropical areas of Africa and Asia and is usually caused by a mosquito-spread parasitic infection.

But Warren said he had never travelled to tropical areas and believes the condition is down to an accident in 2008, when he caught his testicles with his leg while twisting in bed. The next day Warren said his scrotum had grown to "the size of a soccer ball" and continued growing.