Background: Knowing transient vascular perfusion abnormalities of testes after open inguinal herniotomy procedure is
essential for the surgeon who is mainly responsible for the patient outcome.
Purpose: To assess the effect of open inguinal herniotomy procedure on the testicular blood supply in children using
duplex ultrasonography (DUS).
Material and Methods: A prospective observational study included 60 boys (mean age¼9.4614.46 months; age
range¼2 months–6 years) who underwent open inguinal herniotomy operation. Using DUS, the testicular volume, peak
systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), and resistive index (RI) were calculated preoperatively and one
week, one month, and six months postoperatively. The pre- and postoperative measurements were compared.
Statistical analysis was performed using v2 test, Fisher’s exact test, or Student’s t-test when appropriate.
Results: On physical examination, the hernias were unilateral in 57 boys and bilateral in three boys. Comparison
between testicular volumes preoperatively and postoperatively showed no significant change (P>0.05). There was a
statistically significant increase of PSV and RI one week and one month postoperatively (P0.05) which did not return to the preoperative value.
Conclusion: The affection of testicular vascularity postoperatively is transient and returns to be near to the preoperative
values in the late postoperative period (six months postoperatively). Additionally, no significant change in testicular
volume postoperatively.