The effect of surgical inguinal hernia repair on testicular blood supply: A prospective superb microvascular imaging ultrasonography study.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the differences in vascularity between the testis on the inguinal hernia (IH) side and the contralateral healthy testis by performing preoperative and postoperative (first month) examinations with superb microvascular imaging ultrasonography (SMI USG), and to compare results with power Doppler (PD) USG. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, 35 patients diagnosed with IH between April 2023 and July 2023 who were hospitalized in the general surgery ward of a tertiary hospital for IH surgery were evaluated. RESULTS: The postoperative vascular index (VI) values obtained by SMI were found to be significantly lower than preoperative VI values in both operated and non-operated testes (p < 0.001). The VI values obtained with PD in the postoperative period were significantly lower in the operated and nonoperated testes on both sides compared with the VI values obtained in the preoperative period (p < 0.001 and p = 0.029, respectively). There was a significant difference between preoperative and postoperative VI difference values obtained by SMI and PD on the operated side (p = 0.015). CONCLUSION: In our study examining patients who had undergone IH surgery, testicular vascularity was assessed more precisely with the SMI USG method compared with the PD method.