Sonographic appearances of the postoperative testis

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Radiology
• Oncology

Background:

• Testicle-sparing surgery and biopsies are common urological procedures.
• Accurate interpretation of post-operative sonographic findings is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the typical sonographic appearance of the testis following testicle-sparing surgery and surgical biopsies.
• To differentiate normal post-surgical changes from potential complications or tumor recurrence.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of color Doppler sonographic findings in 14 patients.
• Analysis of findings after various testicular interventions including biopsies and tumor excisions.

Main Results:

• Hypoechoic and hypovascular lesions, interpreted as scars, were observed in most patients post-surgery.
• Scars were typically linear or triangular with rectilinear margins.
• Some patients showed retraction of the testicular surface; scars evolved over time, with some disappearing or reducing in size.

Conclusions:

• Hypoechoic and hypovascular scars are a normal sonographic finding after testicle-sparing surgery.
• Understanding these scar characteristics is essential to avoid misdiagnosis of tumor recurrence.
• Sonographic monitoring should account for these expected post-operative changes.