Effect of unilateral testicular torsion at different ages on male fertility

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effect of early-life unilateral testicular torsion on adult male fertility.

Methods: Clinical information was collected for 122 patients who had experienced unilateral testicular torsion at a median age of 15.5 years. The recent pregnancy rate and time to pregnancy experienced by the patients’ female partners were assessed by structured interviews. Data were analyzed by the chi-squared test and Student’s t-test.

Results: Seventy-two patients with testicular torsion met the criteria for inclusion in our analyses; 49 had undergone orchiectomy, while 23 had undergone surgical repositioning/orchiopexy. The pregnancy rate and median time to pregnancy were 83.67% (41/49) and 1.6 years, respectively, in the orchiectomy group, whereas they were 91.30% (21/23) and 0.75 years, respectively, in the repositioning/orchiopexy group. The recent pregnancy rate was higher in patients with torsion in childhood than in patients with torsion in adolescence; it was lowest in patients with torsion in adulthood. Surgical repositioning/orchiopexy yielded a significantly better recent pregnancy rate among the three groups, based on age at the time of torsion, and a shorter time to pregnancy than orchiectomy in patients with torsion in adolescence.

Conclusion: Onset of unilateral testicular torsion early in life has a negligible effect on adult male fertility.

Keywords: Testicular torsion; male fertility; orchiectomy; recent pregnancy rate; repositioning/orchiopexy; sexual partners; structured interviews; time-to-pregnancy.