Even though the ischemic change induced by the testicular torsion has been studied extensively, there is a few available information about the prevention or reduction of testicular injury during vascular insufficiency. We studied the effect of
hypothermia on prevention of the ischemia-induced damage and the effect of hyperthermia on the recovery of the damage during re-perfusion of blood after ischemia ended. The four groups of Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to varying duration of
bilateral testicular ischemia. In the first group, both testes underwent ischemia for 2, 4 and 6 hours at room temperature. The second group underwent ischemia for 30 minutes at room temperature and then for 1.5, 3.5 and 5.5 hours at 4℃ ice
bath.
In
the third group, testes underwent the procedure described in the first group and then were immersed in 41℃ water for 30 minutes during re-perfusion of blood. The fourth group underwent the procedure described in the second group and then were
immersed
in 41℃ water for 30 minutes during re-perfusion of blood. Bilateral orchiectomy was performed after lapse of 2 weeks. Histology of testes of all groups was compared. Neither group revealed significant destruction of germinal epithelium after two
hours
of ischemia. However, the preservation rates of germinal epithelium in the first group were 25% and 8.3% at four and six hours of ischemia, when compared with the control group, which were statistically significant (p<0.05). In contrast, the
rates
of
the second group which received hypothemia were 87.5% at four hours 85.4% at six hours of ischemia. Comparing the first group with the fourth group (hyperthermia) and the second group with the fourth group (hyperthermia), authors could not find
any
statistical significance(p>0.05). In conclusion, when ischemia was induced by testicular torsion, the damage of testicular tissue could be prevented or arrested to a certain degree by external ice application. However, it might be proposed that
hyperthermia did not enhance the recovery of the damaged testes after re-perfusion of blood.
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