[Emergency radionuclide diagnosis of subtorsion of the spermatic cord].

Correct diagnosis of subtorsion of the spermatic cord was established in 9 patients by gamma-camera scintigraphy with 99mTc sodium pertechnate. The tentative out-patient diagnosis in 8 patients was acute orchiepididymitis and 2 were suspected of having torsion of the spermatic cord. The scintigraphic image of spermatic cord subtorsion is very characteristic and allows precise diagnosis. At the site of the testis there is some degree of activity--the smaller the degree of torsion the higher the activity is. Around the testis there is a ring-shaped bank of increased activity. In torsion of the spermatic cord (torsion greater than 360 degrees) a cold zone is visualized at the site of the testis, surrounded by a ring of increased activity. In acute orchiepididymitis the testis is seen enlarged with evidence of increased capillary tissue blood flow; on later scintigrams the activity in the testis is strongly increased. Gamma-camera scintigraphy is a quick, exact and noninvasive method, which contributes much to estbich precise diagnosis in cases of acute scrotum. The scintigraphic image of subtorsion and torsion of the spermatic cord is very characteristic and explicit, allowing to distinguish this disease from acute orchiepididymitis. This in turn is of major importance for successful emergency operation to preserve the testis.