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The following is a summary of “Outcomes of Orchiectomy for Gender-affirming Surgery: A National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Study,” published in the October 2023 issue of Urology by Saltman, et al.

For a study, researchers sought to delineate the perioperative outcomes of transgender orchiectomy (TGO) and provide a broad comparative analysis of TGO to cisgender orchiectomy (CGO) for non-oncologic indications.

A retrospective study was conducted using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database spanning from 2010 to 2020. Patients with ICD-9/10 codes for gender dysphoria, testicular torsion, and testicular pain who underwent simple orchiectomy were included. Demographic information and surgical outcomes were summarized, and group analysis was performed using Welch two-sample t-tests and chi-square tests. Temporal trends in these surgeries were also subject to trend analysis.

The study comprised 246 patients who underwent TGO and 997 patients who underwent CGO (607 for testicular torsion and 390 for testicular pain). Overall complication rates did not significantly differ between TGO and CGO for testicular torsion (3.7% vs. 4.4%, P = .6) or testicular pain (3.7% vs. 5.9%, P = .2). No significant differences in patient characteristics were observed within the TGO group when comparing those who experienced complications to those who did not. From 2015 to 2020, TGO cases exhibited a significant increase, averaging 9.5 cases per year (95% CI: 6.3-12.7, P = .001), while CGO showed no significant temporal change.

Standalone TGO can be safely performed in an outpatient setting with an acceptable complication profile across medically diverse patients.

Source: goldjournal.net/article/S0090-4295(23)00593-9/fulltext