Outcomes of Surgical Exploration of Acute Scrotal Pain Raising Suspicion of Testicular Torsion

Abstract

Background and objectiveTesticular torsion (TT) is a surgical emergency, affecting approximately one in every 4000 males under the age of 25 years annually in the United States. In this study, we aimed to determine the outcomes of emergency scrotal surgical exploration of cases that raised suspicion of TT presenting to Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC), Bahrain's largest secondary and tertiary care center. MethodsThis was a retrospective cohort study. The data were collected from the hospital's electronic medical record software (I-SEHA). The data included patient age, Doppler ultrasound (DUS) findings prior to any surgical procedure, type of surgical procedure, and the surgical findings of that procedure. ResultsOf the 198 patients who underwent scrotal exploration, 141 had presented with signs and symptoms suggestive of TT. The mean age of the patients was 22.3 ±9.3 years. Doppler imaging was performed preoperatively on 135 out of 141 (95.7%) patients. After scrotal exploration, 91.4% of the patients were found to have TT. The proportion of patients with salvageable testis was 78.7%. ConclusionsThe study found that surgical exploration remains the definitive method in the management of acute scrotum in TT patients. Our findings are in line with those from other similar studies and meta-analyses.