Current attitudes to testicular prosthesis insertion during radical orchidectomy—An international perspective

Objectives

This study aimed to assess current international clinician practices, attitudes and barriers related to testicular prosthesis implantation in patients with testicular cancer at the time of radical inguinal orchidectomy.

Methods

An international online survey of urologists who perform radical orchidectomy for testicular cancer was developed. The recruitment process used social media and the emailing lists of national urological societies. Responses were collected between 10 February 2021 and 31 May 2021. The primary outcome was the proportion of urologists who always offered testicular prosthesis implantation to patients undergoing radical orchidectomy. Secondary outcomes included the reasons for not offering testicular prosthesis implantation.

Results

A total of 393 respondents took part in the online survey; of these, the majority were from the UK (66%), with the remaining international respondents (34%) from six different continents. Urologists (53%) reported they always offer testicular prosthesis implantation. Of those that offered testicular prosthesis implantation, 28% did so as a secondary procedure after radical orchidectomy, rather than the time of radical orchidectomy (72%). The most frequently selected reasons for not offering testicular prosthesis implantation included concerns about delaying chemotherapy (41%), infection (33%), impaired cosmesis (17%) and lack of availability (17%).

Conclusion

Despite evidence confirming the safety and the psychological benefit of testicular prosthesis implantation during radical orchidectomy, current international practice suggests just over half of urologists always offer this to their patients. Increased clinician awareness of the low risk of complications and high patient satisfaction may act to reduce the perceived barriers in offering testicular prosthesis implantation.