Testicular injuries.

We reviewed 91 testicular injuries in 86 patients (5 bilateral) as a result of blunt trauma in 72 patients and gunshot wounds in 14 patients. In 90 percent of the patients the injury was solitary. With blunt trauma initially conservative management led to the loss of the entire testis in 21 percent in comparison with only 6 percent of those explored promptly. The recent use of testicular ultrasonography has not differentiated intratesticular hematoma from rupture in the majority of cases of blunt trauma. Bilateral testicular injury occurred in 1 of 72 patients (1.4%) with blunt trauma versus 4 of 14 (29%) with penetrating trauma and affected the fertility in 3 of 4 patients on follow-up.