Ischemia due to testicular torsion is considered to be an urologic emergency in men. There is controversy about the time necessary to cause morbidity or reversibility of the ischemic lesions of germ cells. The objective of the present study conducted on dogs was to determine the critical time of onset and the reversibility of the lesions after garroting the spermatic cord. The results showed that 2 hours is the critical period of ischemia survival in germ cells. After 60 days there was full recovery of the germinal epithelium. Animals with periods of ischemia of 2h and 30min presented testicular necrosis when examined 60 days later.
dog; testicle; ischemia
