Trends in the use of testicular prostheses in Germany: a total population analysis from 2006-2021

Testicular tumors are the most common malignancies in young adults and their incidence is growing. The implantation of a testicular prosthesis, for example, during orchiectomy is a standard procedure but its frequency in Germany is unknown. This study aims to analyze trends of testicular prosthesis implantation in recent years in Germany.

The nationwide German hospital billing database and the German hospital quality reports from 2006 to 2021 were studied.

A total of 12,753 surgical procedures with implantation of testicular prosthesis and 1,244 procedures with testicular prosthesis explantation were included. Testicular prosthesis implantation increased in total from 699 cases in 2006 to 870 cases in 2020 (+11.4 cases/year; p < 0.001). The share of implantation of testicular prosthesis due to testicular tumor decreased from 72.6% in 2006 to 67.5% in 2020 (p < 0.001). The share of implantation due to gender affirming surgery increased from 6.8% in 2006 to 23.3% in 2020 (p < 0.001). The share of implantation due to testicular atrophy decreased from 11.4% in 2006 to 3.4% in 2020 (p < 0.001). Simultaneous implantation of testicular prosthesis during orchiectomy for testicular cancer increased from 7.8% in 2006 to 11.4% in 2020 (p < 0.001). In 2006, 146 hospitals (85%) performed < 5 testicular prosthesis implantation, while 20 hospitals (12%) performed 5-15 implantation procedures and 6 hospitals (3%) performed > 15 testicular implantation surgeries. In 2021, 115 hospitals (72%) performed < 5 testicular prosthesis implantation, while 39 hospitals (25%) performed 5-15 implantation procedures and 5 hospitals (3%) performed > 15 testicular implantation surgeries.

This study shows that implantation of testicular prostheses is steadily increasing. Explantation rates are low. Besides testicular cancer transgender surgeries were the main driver for increasing case numbers in recent years.