Hyperbaric oxygen treatment for unilateral testicular torsion in a child

Torsion of the testis is a urological emergency most commonly occurring in adolescent boys. Hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) has been shown to alleviate reperfusion injury in experimental ischaemia of the testis. We report a 13-year-old boy who had prolonged right testicular ischaemia. Despite surgery, the colour of the testis remained poor. He underwent a post-operative course of 10 HBOT over 8 days, with restoration of blood flow on colour Doppler and reduction of oedema. At four-month followup, the testis appeared normal on ultrasonography. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published case of torsion of the testis treated with HBOT.