Indocyanine green fluorescence imaging as a predictor of long-term testicular atrophy in testicular torsion: a pilot study

This pilot study evaluated indocyanine green-guided near-infrared fluorescence (ICG-NIRF) imaging of testicular blood flow to predict long-term testicular atrophy after testicular torsion (TT) surgery.

The subjects of this retrospective study were patients who underwent surgery for TT at our hospital between December, 2020 and July, 2022. After detorsion, testicular blood flow was evaluated by ICG-NIRF imaging and classified into three categories: fluorescence detected, no fluorescence detected, and fluorescence detected only in the tunica albuginea vessels. Testicular volume was measured by ultrasonography up to 12 months after surgery to evaluate long-term outcomes.

Twelve patients were included in this analysis. We found a 100% correlation between the absence of ICG-NIRF signals and subsequent testicular atrophy. In three patients without an ICG-NIRF signal, the median testis size 12 months postoperatively was significantly smaller (16.5% of the contralateral testis; range 13–20%) than that in six patients with an ICG-NIRF signal (96%; 89–115%) (p = 0.013). Mild atrophy (74.5%; 73–76%) was also observed in the three patients for whom an ICG-NIRF signal was detected only in the tunica albuginea vessels.

Our pilot study highlights the potential of ICG-NIRF imaging as a prognostic tool for guiding surgical decision-making for patients with TT, by predicting postoperative testicular atrophy.