The effect of acute cold ischemia duration on testicular tissue

Object: Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men between the ages of 20-40. We aimed to determine the optimal duration of cold ischemia in partial orchiectomy, which has been increasingly applied in appropriate cases with testicular tumors. Materials and Methods: Thirty Wistar albino male rats divided into 4 groups. Both testicles in all groups were cooled with ice molds. An immediate, bilateral orchiectomy was performed in the sham group after the cooling period (Group I). Ischemia was induced by clamping both testicles of other rats. The clamps of the rats in Group II, Group III, and Group IV were opened at the 10th, 20th and 30th minutes, respectively. After a reperfusion period of 1 hour, both testicles were excised. The changes in biochemical and histopathological parameters between the groups were compared. Results: There was no difference in the median levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) between groups. A significant increase was observed in the median levels of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) with increasing ischemia duration. As the ischemia duration increased, the median total antioxidant status (TAS) level decreased but the median total oxidant status (TOS) and oxidative stress index (OSI) levels increased in Group II, Group III, and Group IV compared to Group I. The median tubule diameter of the ischemia/reperfusion groups decreased as the ischemia duration increased in comparison to the sham group (p=0.000). Conclusion: We recommend limiting the spermatic cord clamp (ischemia) duration with 20 minutes to reduce the ischemia/reperfusion damage that will develop in the remaining testicular tissue during the partial orchiectomy operation.