Diagnosis of testicular torsion using Doppler ultrasonic examination.

The differential diagnosis of acute scrotum in an emergency is difficult and the diagnosis is rarely certain. Moreover, torsion is often diagnosed too late to save the testis involved. The Doppler ultrasonic flowmeter has enabled us to make a correct and rapid diagnosis of acute scrotum and has reduced the number of negative scrotal explorations. It seemed logical to use the Doppler flowmeter in the diagnosis of torsion of the testis, since testicular blood flow should be diminished in torsion and unaffected in most other intrascrotal conditions. The testes lend themselves to the use of this instrument because they are accessible and because one testis can be used as a control in the qualitative evaluation of the sound of the testicular blood flow.