La torsione del funicolo spermatico: criticità cliniche e medico-legali

Abstract

[ Torsion of the spermatic cord: clinical and medicolegal critical states] Although an exhaustive statistics is not available nowadays, the torsion of the spermatic cord is a common cause of medical-legal contentious. This is due to the diversified symptoms, to the difficult differential diagnosis (e.g.: epididymitis/acute orchiepididymitis, torsion of testicular appendixes or of epididymis, strangulated hernia, hematocele, hydrocele, testicular neoplasia, symptomatic spermatocele and idiopathic scrotal oedema) and to the importance of a sudden therapeutic intervention (within few hours): in fact a late intervention leads to testicular necrosis and subsequently to orchiectomy. The article shows also the different classifications of medical errors used to establish the possible fault and indemnity for the physician to pay.