Scrotal explorations negative for malignancy

We reviewed 74 cases of scrotal exploration via an inguinal approach that were negative for malignancy. Of these explorations 24 (32 per cent) resulted in radical orchiectomy and 14 (19 per cent) resulted in simple orchiectomy. An additional 17 patients (23 per cent) had some other operation in addition to exploration. The most frequent final diagnoses were epididymitis (26 per cent), testicular torsion (18 per cent) and hydrocele (15 per cent). These data demonstrate that scrotal explorations to eliminate the possibility of malignancy result in a high orchiectomy rate for benign disease.