A Comparison of Testicular Volume and Blood Flow in Patients With Inguinal Hernia, Hydrocele, and Cord Cyst
A Comparison of Testicular Volume and Blood Flow in Patients With Inguinal Hernia, Hydrocele, and Cord Cyst
Here, investigators aimed to evaluate the effect of inguinal operations performed with a
 modified Ferguson technique upon testicular volume and blood flow. This study involved 23
 patients receiving surgery for inguinal hernia, hydrocele, and cord cyst. The color Doppler
 ultrasound (CDUS) was used to assess testicular volume and blood flow before and after a
 modified Ferguson technique surgery. The pre- and postoperative testicular volume and blood
 flow were compared with the contralateral testes. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
 (SPSS) software was used to statistically analyze the data arising; the Mann-Whitney U test
 and Friedman test were used to compare samples, and P < 0.05 was accepted as statistically
 significant.
Patients and Methods The study was performed prospectively with the approval of the Local
 Human Ethics Committee. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were
 in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research
 committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable
 ethical standards. All patients included in the study were provided with a patient consent
 form.

 Study Group The analysis included male patients who were younger than 17 years and possessing
 one-sided inguinal hernia, hydrocele, or cord cyst and who were otherwise healthy. The study
 was performed prospectively between April 2016 and June 2016 in a medical faculty pediatric
 surgery unit.

 Study plan Following diagnosis, patients received a CDUS and testicular volume and blood flow
 were measured preoperatively. All patients then received surgery with modified Ferguson
 repair. Testicular volume and blood flow were then reassessed by CDUS on days 7 and 30
 following surgery.

 Radiological evaluation Radiological evaluation was performed by a single radiologist using
 color doppler ultrasound (CDUS) preoperatively and on days 7 and 30 post-surgery.
 Longitudinal, anteroposterior, and transverse diameters of the testis were measured, and the
 testicular volume was calculated automatically using the CDUS device (volume = 0.523 × D1 ×
 D2 × D3, where D1, D2, and D3 were the maximal longitudinal, anteroposterior, and transverse
 diameters defined by CDUS) for both testicles in each patient [1]. Peak systolic velocity
 (PSV) was calculated using the CDUS system (in cm3/s) for both testicles in each patient.

 Statistical analysis The SPSS 15.0 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software
 package was used for all statistical analysis. Testicular volumes and blood flow were
 analyzed as mean±standard deviation. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare differences
 in testicular volume and blood flow between the testis receiving surgery and the
 contralateral testis. Differences in preoperative, early postoperative (7 days post-surgery),
 and late postoperative (30 days post-surgery) testicular volume and blood flow of each
 testicle were compared using the Friedman test and P < 0.05 was accepted as statistically
 significant.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Our analysis included boys who were younger than 17 years and possessing one-sided
 inguinal hernia, hydrocele, or cord cyst and who were otherwise healthy.

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Patients who had bilaterally inguinal hernia, hydrocele, or cord cyst