Transurethral resection of the prostate with partial resection of the seminal vesicle

A retrospective study was done on 185 patients who underwent transurethral prostatectomy. Of these patients 6 had seminal vesicle tissue in the resected specimen. The presence of the yellow-brown pigment, lipofuscin, in the seminal vesicle epithelium was a consistent finding and, often, paramount to differentiation from carcinoma of the prostate. There was no pathological misdiagnosis of malignancy in this series. Of the 6 patients 2 suffered acute epididymitis postoperatively and 1 had persistent microscopic hematuria 2 months postoperatively. The high incidence of postoperative epididymitis probably is owing to contamination of the seminal vesicles by bacteria. Acquired during urinary tract manipulation, having access to the seminal vesicles and, thus, the vas deferens. In these patients vasectomy and broad-spectrum antibiotics are recommended because epididymal invasion by bacteria may already have occurred before pathologic diagnosis is obtained.