Objective: To verify the feasibility of autologous transplantation of testes to the abdominal wall and omentum of rats without vascular anastomosis, analyzing the histological structure of the testicular cells after implantation.
Methods: We used 60 male Wistar rats, 10-12 weeks of age, which were divided into three groups: control group: 20 rats without orchiectomy with sham operation; group 2: 20 rats undergoing bilateral orchiectomy, with one of the testicles being implanted into the greater omentum; and group 3: 20 rats submitted to bilateral orchiectomy, with one testicle implanted in the abdominal wall. After two months they were euthanized and the testes evaluated by histopathology.
Results: the weight of the implants had a loss of 0.62 g in group 2, 0.73 g in group 3, whilst in the control group testes increased by 0.1 g. In pathological studies, the testicular structure was preserved in the control group; in group 2 there was 80% of inflammation and necrosis, Sertoli and Leydig cells were not visualized, and seminiferous tubules were found in two animals; in group 3 we found 75% of inflammation and a 60% necrosis, Sertoli cells could be visualized in only one specimen, while Leydig cells were seen in three.
Conclusion: autologous transplantation of testis to the greater omentum and abdominal wall without vascular anastomosis is not viable in rats.