August 15th, 2016
Absent or lost testicle(s) due to trauma, surgery or disease can have a very bad impact on the life of an individual. In poorly managed cases, the affected person may experience difficulty in maintaining personal as well as sexual relationships. All such individuals are good candidates for testicular prostheses (or testicular implants) to restore their normal quality of life. It is however imperative to mention that these implants can only enhance the aesthetic appearance of your groin area and does not offer any help to restore the usual functions of testicles.
Individuals with following indications should discuss with their healthcare professional regarding testicular implants.
Testicular prostheses/implants can also offer help in men who have cosmetic issues with their testicles (such as extremely small testicles, unequal or disproportionate testicles or non- functioning testicles). In addition, adults with testicular cancer, testicular injury or torsion of testes are also ideal candidates for testicular implants.
Testicular implants adds up to the aesthetic look. The alternatives to these implants are procedures like subcapsular orchiectomy, which involves the removal of testicle tissue, while leaving the capsule empty. This procedure is not suitable for men with testicular cancer. Another option is to leave the scrotum fully or partially empty. Subcapsular orchiectomy yields smaller appearance to the scrotum but is considered better to empty scrotum aesthetically.
Testicular implants are not a viable option for men with:
This is mainly because, the risk of complications increases significantly in all such cases.
Like other medical devices/implants, testicular prostheses are also associated with certain considerations. It is the duty of surgeon to discuss all the pros and cons of procedure with the patients. Certain considerations and concerns regarding the procedure are:
Testicular implants can produce scarring (which is also referred to as the capsule) around the implant. This capsule may start to contract, leading to a condition known as fibrous capsular contracture. This condition can harden the implant and may also present with disturbing symptoms such as localized discomfort and pain.
Following is the safety data and statistics obtained from a recent clinical study after performing the procedure:
Data regarding the effectiveness of implants suggested that:
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2. Phan, Q. B., Koutlidis, N., Duperron, C., Mourey, E., Michel, F., & Cormier, L. (2016). Management of Testicular Silicone Gel-Filled Prosthesis Rupture: Case Report of a Rare Event and a Review of the Literature. Case reports in urology, 2016.
3. Kogan, S. (2014). The clinical utility of testicular prosthesis placement in children with genital and testicular disorders. Translational andrology and urology, 3(4), 391.
4. Selvaggi, G. (2015). Surgical therapy: scrotal reconstruction in female-to-male transsexuals. In Management of Gender Dysphoria (pp. 295-301). Springer Milan.