PURPOSE: This paper reviews the sonographic appearances of calculi found in hydroceles. METHODS: The records and sonograms of 350 patients who had scrotal sonography examinations at Salmaniya Hospital, Bahrain, between September 1992 and August 1994 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Seventy-eight hydroceles were identified. Of those, 32 contained calcareous particles or calculi. Calculi 3 mm or more in diameter were seen incidentally as movable echogenic foci in the hydrocele fluid in 15 patients who had projections and calcifications in the tunica vaginalis, skin thickening, and/or chronic epididymitis. These findings indicated that the likely cause of calculus formation was chronic scrotal inflammation leading to a disturbance in reabsorption of hydrocele fluid. During sonography, calculi in hydroceles were seen moving in the fluid between the tunica vaginalis layers; this distinguished them from other scrotal calculi or pathologic findings. CONCLUSIONS: With sonographic identification of calculi in hydroceles, further imaging and surgery may be avoided.
PURPOSE: This paper reviews the sonographic appearances of calculi found in hydroceles. METHODS: The records and sonograms of 350 patients who had scrotal sonography examinations at Salmaniya Hospital, Bahrain, between September 1992 and August 1994 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Seventy-eight hydroceles were identified. Of those, 32 contained calcareous particles or calculi. Calculi 3 mm or more in diameter were seen incidentally as movable echogenic foci in the hydrocele fluid in 15 patients who had projections and calcifications in the tunica vaginalis, skin thickening, and/or chronic epididymitis. These findings indicated that the likely cause of calculus formation was chronic scrotal inflammation leading to a disturbance in reabsorption of hydrocele fluid. During sonography, calculi in hydroceles were seen moving in the fluid between the tunica vaginalis layers; this distinguished them from other scrotal calculi or pathologic findings. CONCLUSIONS: With sonographic identification of calculi in hydroceles, further imaging and surgery may be avoided.