Prepubertal vasal injury: its effect on postpubertal vas deferens

At this institution, via clinical observation at laparoscopy, a phenomenon was noted in humans that was associated with injury to the prepubertal vas deferens. There were 4 cases that presented with apparent atrophy of the abdominal pelvic portion of the vas deferens following injury to the vas in the prepubertal period. A study was undertaken to see if this phenomenon could be duplicated in an animal model. Prepubertal Sprague-Dawley rats were selected and divided into several groups ranging from sham surgery to unilateral partial vasectomy. These groups allowed for observations following different modes of trauma as well as creation of a control population. Additionally, an adult group was studied to evaluate the effects of vas injury in the adult rat. In the adult group, following trauma to the vas, no changes in the abdominal pelvic portion of the vas were noted. In the prepubertal group, with ligation and with segmental excision (partial vasectomy), striking diminution in outer diameter and wall thickness of the distal vas deferens was noted. This study indicates that the rat prepubertal vas serves as a good model for study of the human vas deferens. Further studies are underway which seek to elicit the mechanism of the observed injury.