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Published-Ahead-of-Print May 9, 2007, DOI:10.2164/jandrol.106.002212
Journal of Andrology, Vol. 28, No. 6, November/December 2007
Copyright © American Society of Andrology
DOI: 10.2164/jandrol.106.002212

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Outcome of Fowler-Stephens Operation for Undescended Testes: An Experimental Study

EVAGELIA GOUGOUDI*, EMMANOUIL PIKOULIS{ddagger}, IOANNIS KARAVOKYROS{ddagger}, KAREN GORGAS{dagger}, EVAGELOS FELEKOURAS{ddagger}, SOTIRIS GEORGOPOULOS{ddagger}, CHRISTOS TSIGRIS{ddagger}, ATHANASIOS GIANNOPOULOS{ddagger} AND ZACHARIAS ZACHARIOU*

From the * Department of Pediatric Surgery and {dagger} Department of Anatomy, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany, and {ddagger} First Department of Surgery, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.

Correspondence to: Dr Evagelia Gougoudi, Pediatric Surgeon, 21 Nikis str, Paradisos Amarousiou, 15233 Attica, Greece (e-mail: evagougoudi{at}yahoo.com).


The aim of this study was the outcome of Fowler-Stephens (FS) operations in prepubertal Wistar rats. Thirty-two 30-day-old rats underwent laparoscopic FS procedures on the right testicles (8 of them formed the control group). Nine, 30, 70, and 90 days later we assessed the testes histologically and determined inhibin ßB serum concentrations; 1 day earlier, ultrasonography was also performed. Decreases in central testicular vascularity and heterogenous parenchymal echogenicity were the initial sonographic evidence of testicular damage, which either regressed in time or extended toward the periphery. Early degenerative changes either remained mild and restricted in the germinative epithelium or became more severe, affecting additional structures. Decreases in the seminiferous tubule area, thickening of the tunica albuginea, and increases in the number of mast cells were changes that reached significance. Significant decreases in the amount of serum inhibin ßB were also found, and the decreases correlated significantly with both the thickening of the tunica albuginea and the increases in the number of mast cells but not with the decreases in the seminiferous tubule area. Division of the spermatic vessels caused severe testicular degeneration as evidenced by changes in ultrasonographic and histologic features combined with drops in the levels of serum inhibin ßB.

     Key words: Cryptorchidism, orchiopexy, postoperative testicular atrophy, inhibin ßB, mast cells






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Copyright © 2007 by The American Society of Andrology.