To the editor:
Thank you for publishing “The Rate of Hydrocele Perforation During Vasectomy.”1 It answers a nagging question I have had since I first encountered this situation. Initially, I did not know exactly what I had encountered—another benefit of the article. In retrospect I have had 2 such perforations in 75 vasectomies, for a rate of 2.7%. Neither of these patients had any long-term morbidity from the perforation. In addition, I was asked to assist a colleague who was concerned about a perforation of a hydrocele. At the time neither she nor I knew exactly what she had ruptured, but I assured her it was most likely a benign process, which turned out to be true. I agree completely with the authors that this is an incidental complication to a vasectomy. I also applaud them in bringing this issue to print, because now more family physicians can be aware of this complication.
Jeff Leggit, MD
Clifton, Virginia
- Seidl J, Brotzman G. The rate of hydrocele perforation during vasectomy. J Fam Pract 2000; 49:537-40.