Testicular tissue bleeding as an indicator of gonadal salvageability in testicular torsion surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the reliability of using bleeding from the cut surface of testicular tissue during surgery for testicular torsion to assess testicular viability, compared with the duration of symptoms and preoperative findings on testicular Doppler ultrasonography (DUS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study comprised 19 children with testicular torsion who underwent surgery; all underwent DUS before surgery. During surgery the tunica vaginalis of the affected gonad was incised and a deep incision made through the medulla after obtaining a wedge biopsy for histological examination. After waiting up to 10 min to assess any fresh arterial bleeding from the cut surface, the patients were categorized using three grades; grade I (sufficient bleeding, i.e. bleeding or oozing when the biopsy was obtained); grade II (insufficient bleeding, no bleeding immediately after the incision but starting within 10 min); and grade III (no bleeding within 10 min). The final surgical decision on whether to save the testis was made according to the grade of testicular tissue bleeding; grade I and II testes were saved and grade III testes were removed. The biopsies were histopathologically examined and classified as haemorrhagic, necrotic or indeterminate. The patients were followed up at 15 days and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months, with the affected testis examined using DUS. At the end of the study, the sensitivity and specificity of the duration of symptoms, characteristics of blood flow on DUS and grading of testicular tissue bleeding at surgery were calculated for predicting testis viability, using the histopathological diagnosis as the reference standard.
RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were respectively 100%, 90%, 90% and 100% for a duration of symptoms of > 10 h, 78%, 80%, 78% and 80% for DUS findings, and 100%, 78%, 83% and 100% for testicular tissue bleeding in predicting gonad viability after torsion, respectively.
CONCLUSION: Although the 10 h limit for the duration of symptoms seems a more accurate predictor of the fate of a twisted testis than were the other variables, testicular tissue bleeding may also be a good indicator of gonadal viability during surgery. The surgeon should wait up to 10 min after incising the testicular tissue deep to the medulla before deciding the type of surgery. In cases where bleeding from the cut surface is sufficient or insufficient (according to the proposed grading system), orchidopexy is the treatment of choice. The salvaged testes should be assessed during follow-up, especially in those who had had insufficient bleeding at surgery and/or a duration of symptoms > 10 h, to assess for any delayed damage to the untwisted testis. If no bleeding is seen during surgery the best option is to remove the affected testis.