Shear Wave Elastography Evaluation of Testes in Patients With Varicocele

Abstract

We aimed to determine histological damage in patients with varicocele by comparing the elasticity of their affected testes with that of their normal contralateral testes as well as normal testes of control subjects without varicocele using shear wave elastography (SWE). In total, 48 patients with varicocele (96 testes) and 52 control subjects (104 testes) were included in this study. Shear wave elastography values were measured in the longitudinal plane using an oval region of interest that covered as much of the testicular contours as possible. Fifty testes with varicocele were classified as group A, 46 normal contralateral testes of the same patients as group B, and 104 normal testes of control subjects as group C. The normal group C testes were randomly chosen from patients who had applied for ultrasonography for any reason and agreed to participate in the study. The testicular volume and SWE values were compared between these 3 groups. The average age of the patients was 28.45 years, and no significant difference in age was found between the 3 groups (P = 0.665). A significant difference in the testicular volume was found between groups A and C (P = 0.014). The SWE values were significantly higher in group A than in groups B and C (P < 0.001). No significant correlation was observed between the testicular volume and SWE values in any of the groups. Our results showed that SWE can be used as an effective technique to assess testicular stiffness in patients with varicocele to predict interstitial fibrosis and the severity of histological damage.