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Can we preserve the necrotic testis caused by incarcerated inguinal hernia in infants under 3 months?

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate whether necrotic testis resulting from incarcerated inguinal hernias can be preserved in infants under 3 months old.

Methods

A retrospective analysis was conducted on data collected from infants under 3 months old who had necrotic testis caused by incarcerated inguinal hernias between 2016 and 2020. They were divided into two groups: the orchiectomy group and the testicular preservation group. The control group consisted of normal male children of the same age. Data regarding bilateral testicular volume, dihydrotestosterone, inhibin B, and antisperm antibodies were collected.

Results

The study included 42 cases, with 18 patients being followed up for 6–54 months after the operation. In the testicular preservation group, 2 children did not experience testicular atrophy. There was no significant difference in the volume of the contralateral testes between the testicular preservation group and the control group; however, both groups had smaller testicular volumes compared to the orchiectomy group. There was no significant difference in the levels of inhibin B between the testicular preservation group and the orchiectomy group, although both were lower than the control group. Furthermore, no significant difference was observed in the levels of dihydrotestosterone and the positivity rate of antisperm antibodies among the three groups.

Conclusion

Preserving the necrotic testis may allow it to survive without impacting the contralateral testis. Therefore, a more conservative approach should be considered for orchiectomy when dealing with testicular necrosis caused by incarcerated inguinal hernias in infants.

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Data availability

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Surgery and Neonatal Surgery, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Liangjiang Wing, Yubei District, Chongqing, 401122, China

    Jinfeng Hou, Wei Feng, Qingshuang Liu, Yi Wang, Zhenhua Guo & Wei Liu

  2. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders (Chongqing), China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China

    Jinfeng Hou, Wei Feng, Qingshuang Liu, Yi Wang, Zhenhua Guo & Wei Liu

Authors
  1. Jinfeng Hou
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  2. Wei Feng
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  3. Qingshuang Liu
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  4. Yi Wang
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  5. Zhenhua Guo
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  6. Wei Liu
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by WF, QL, YW. The first draft of the manuscript was written by JH.Manuscript editing was performed by WL and ZG.All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Wei Liu.

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Hou, J., Feng, W., Liu, Q. et al. Can we preserve the necrotic testis caused by incarcerated inguinal hernia in infants under 3 months?. Pediatr Surg Int 40, 16 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00383-023-05592-x

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