Prospective study on the effects of a polypropylene prosthesis on testicular volume and arterial flow in patients undergoing surgical correction for inguinal hernia.

Abstract

PURPOSE: To evaluate testicular volume and arterial flow in patients undergoing surgical correction for inguinal hernia, with polypropylene prosthesis. METHODS: This was an observational prospective clinical study on 39 male patients with unilateral inguinal hernia of types III A and III B according to the Nyhus classification who underwent surgical correction with implantation of a polypropylene prosthesis by means of the Lichtenstein technique. The patients were evaluated using Doppler ultrasound before the operation and selectively at the third and sixth months after the operation. The variables studied were testicular volume, systolic and diastolic velocity, resistance index and pulsatility index. RESULTS: No statistically significant alterations in the variables studied were observed over the course of time: testicular volume (p= 0.197); systolic velocity (p= 0.257); diastolic velocity (p= 0.554); resistance index (p= 0.998); and pulsatility index (p= 0.582). CONCLUSION: No alteration in testicular volume and arterial flow over a six-month period was observed among patients who underwent surgical correction for inguinal hernia using a polypropylene prosthesis.