Should the ovary always be conserved in torsion? A tertiary care institute experience

The aim of this study was to analyze our experience in conserving ovarian tissue in cases of ovarian torsion, irrespective of grade of necrosis at exploration.

All children with a diagnosis of ovarian torsion admitted to our hospital from January 2009 to January 2013 were included. Patients with underlying ovarian pathology were excluded.

There were 13 torsions in 12 children (one bilateral). All underwent detorsion with or without evacuation of hematoma. Follow-up ultrasonography (USG) with color Doppler was done for all 13 ovaries, which showed an ovary with good vascularity and follicular development in 12 ovaries (92%). In 76% (10 of 13) of cases, intraoperatively, the ovary was judged to be moderately to severely ischemic/necrotic. Yet, follow-up sonograms showed the ovary with follicular development in all cases except one (7%). There were no major complications in our series.

Simple detorsion, instead of traditionally advocated oophorectomy, was not accompanied by an increase in morbidity. On follow-up, almost all patients studied had functioning ovarian tissue despite the grave ischemia observed intraoperatively. Detorsion should be the procedure of choice for all cases of simple ovarian torsion in children.