A novel T-shaped incision of the tunica vaginalis for managing adhesions during vasoepididymostomy.

Purpose: To propose a novel surgical approach for managing inflammatory adhesions of the tunica vaginalis (TV) during vasoepididymostomy (VE), and to report surgical outcomes.

Materials and methods: A T-shaped incision of the TV was used to expose the epididymis and vas deferens in cases with adhesions between the TV and the testis. We retrospectively analyzed data from five patients who underwent microsurgical VE for obstructive azoospermia (OA) secondary to epididymal obstruction. Operative time, postoperative patency rate and semen analysis, and natural pregnancy rates were recorded. For comparison, 50 patients who underwent conventional longitudinal TV incision were included to assess operative time, while 46 and 36 of these patients were used to compare patency and pregnancy rates, respectively, with the T-shaped incision group.

Results: The T-shaped incision involves a longitudinal incision of the TV at the epididymal-testicular junction followed by an incision (T) in the direction towards the epididymis and vas deferens area. Among the five patients who underwent this approach, four (80.0%) had sperm detected in semen two months postoperatively, and their partners achieved natural pregnancy (4/5, 80.0%) within one year after VE. No postoperative wound infections occurred. No statistically significant differences were observed in mean operative time, patency rates, or pregnancy rates between the T-shaped and longitudinal incision groups.

Conclusions: The T-shaped TV incision is a feasible approach for VE in OA patients with inflammatory TV-testis adhesions, providing adequate epididymal access without compromising operative time or surgical outcomes.