JUM
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gerscovich, E. O.
Right arrow Articles by Beckett, L. A.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gerscovich, E. O.
Right arrow Articles by Beckett, L. A.
© 2008 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
J Ultrasound Med 27:1667-1672 • 0278-4297

Increased Rotational Mobility of the Testis After Vasectomy

A Sonographic Study

Eugenio O. Gerscovich, MD, Christopher W. Park, MD, Michelle Z. Dulude, BA, John P. McGahan, MD, Rebecca Stein-Wexler, MD, Tamara A. Greasby, MS and Laurel A. Beckett, PhD

Department of Radiology, University of California, Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California USA (E.O.G., C.W.P., J.P.M., R.S.-W.); and School of Medicine (M.Z.D.), Graduate Group in Biostatistics (T.A.G.), and Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Biostatistics, School of Medicine (L.A.B.), University of California, Davis, Sacramento, California USA

Address correspondence to Eugenio O. Gerscovich, MD, Department of Radiology, University of California, Davis Medical Center, 4860 Y St, Suite 3100, Sacramento, CA 95817 USA., E-mail: eugenio.gerscovich{at}ucdmc.ucdavis.edu

Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate for increased mobility of the testis in postvasectomy patients by observing changes in the position of the testis-epididymis complex (TEC). Methods. This was a retrospective study of 29 postvasectomy patients compared with 29 control patients without a history of vasectomy who were referred for scrotal sonography for various clinical indications over a 1 year-period. The position of the TEC was compared between the two groups. Results. The post-vasectomy group had medial or posteromedial rotation in 13 of 58 testes (22%) compared with 3 of 58 (5%) in the control group. Conclusions. Our study found a statistically higher incidence of medial rotation of the testis in the vasectomy group compared with the control group. Given our findings, it seems reasonable to assume that iatrogenic changes to the structural support mechanism of the testis occur when vasectomy is performed, with a resultant increase in the mobility of the testis within the scrotum.

Key Words: epididymis • scrotal sonography • sonography • testis • vasectomy

Abbreviations: TEC, testis-epididymis complex

HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2008 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.