A NEW PARAMETER FOR QUANTIFICATION AND DISTINCTION OF PHYSIOLOGICAL AMOUNT OF SCROTAL FLUID AND HYDROCELE=TESTIS VOLUME / SCROTAL VOLUME RATIO

Purpose: To determine limits for the amount of tunical fluid enough to be termed as hydrocele ultrasonographically and to define hydrocele for the first time with standart numerical criteria Methods and Materials: Group 1 consisted of 20 patients with unilateral clinical hydrocele for a mean of 7.2±6.2 (range 2–24) months and referred for scrotal US. Group 2 included 20 patients referred for scrotal US for reasons other than hydrocele. Group 3 comprised 20 male control subjects with no scrotal complaints. Testicular volume (Vt), scrotal volume (Vs) and Vt/Vs ratio were calculated for each subject by the dimensions measured in longitudinal and tranverse planes. Results: Mean Vt/Vs ratio was 0.28±0.17(range, 0.07–0.57), 0.69±0.08(range, 0.53–0.80) and 0.71±0.07(range, 0.61–0.85) for groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Mean Vt/Vs for group 1 was significantly different from those for groups 2 and 3 respectively(p