Oophoropexy in children with ovarian torsion

Children who have suffered from ovarian torsion may be at increased risk for a repeat event, and after unilateral ovarian loss, the contralateral ovary is at risk for future torsion. Oophoropexy has not been emphasized enough in the literature. We present our experiences with oophoropexy in children.

The medical records of 10 patients with ovarian torsion, who underwent oophorectomy and contralateral oophoropexy between April 1992 and April 2003, were reviewed retrospectively. The ovary was connected to the peritoneum of the posterior abdominal wall avoiding a disturbance of the tubo-ovarian anatomic relationship.

The ages of patients ranged from 5 days to 14 years, with a mean age of 7.7 years. The period from onset of symptoms to hospital admission was ranged from 2 hours to 11 months. Only 1 ovary was salvaged after detorsion and bilateral oophoropexy was performed. In the other patients, the torsion caused necrosis, and oophorectomy or salpingo-oophorectomy and contralateral oophoropexy were carried out. Ovarian torsion occurred in 4 previously normal ovaries, in 5 cystic ovaries, and in 1 ovary containing a mature cystic teratoma. Two out of 10 patients had thrombus formation within the vessels of the twisted ovaries. An embolic phenomenon did not develop in any of the cases. At follow-up, all pubertal girls had normal menstrual periods.

Failure to protect ovaries from subsequent torsions can result in castration, and we performed oophoropexy in both retained detorsed and contralateral ovaries without any postoperative complication. We performed medial oophoropexy to avoid tubo-ovarian disturbance. Oophoropexy is an easy and reversible procedure, and should be done in all cases of ovarian torsion.