Abstract
To assess the role of hypothermia in testicular ischemic injury in a prepubertal rat model. The study included 24 male, prepubertal Sprague-Dawley rats. Of the 24 rats, 20 were subjected to right testicular ischemia with and without hypothermia for 30 and 60 minutes, 5 in each group. The remaining 4 rats underwent sham operation and were used as controls. A vascular clamp was used to clamp the spermatic cord for the specified time. Hypothermic treatment consisted of placing the testicle in ice slush. At 8 weeks postoperatively, both testicles were harvested. The left testicle was used as the control. A pathologist, who was unaware of the groups, examined all the slides. The mean seminiferous tubular diameter (STD) and mean number of germinal cell layers (GCLs) were obtained. When the contralateral testicle was used as the control, the mean GCL and STD in the ipsilateral operated sides were significantly worse in all ischemic groups. When the sham-operated testicles were used as the control, no significant differences were found between the cold ischemia groups and the sham group. In the warm ischemia groups, the mean GCL and STD were significantly worse than those in the sham group. We compared the operated sides among the groups. At 30 minutes, the mean GCL and STD showed a trend toward preservation with cold ischemia, although the difference was insignificant. At 60 minutes, the mean GCL and STD were significantly worse with warm than with cold ischemia. The results of our study have shown that permanent ipsilateral ischemic testicular damage occurred as early as 30 minutes in prepubertal rats. The damage might be reduced with hypothermia.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.