Preventing Testicular Damage in Genital Burns With Cooling: An Experimental Study

Materials and Methods: Twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups of 10 testes each. Five animals in the sham group were anesthetized; both testes were removed through a lower transverse abdominal incision. In the burn-induced groups, a tin container filled with boiling water was used to induce burns. In group T30, scrota were fixed in a hole in a 25×30 cm porcelain wall tile plate and contacted the steam for 30 seconds; in groups T60 and TB60 (melaleuca hydrogel application group), the same procedure was done for 60 seconds. Excisional biopsies of the testes in all groups were done 1 hour later. Proliferation indexes for spermatogenic cells were measured using a PCNA labeling index. Apoptotic activity in spermatogenic cells was measured using the TUNEL index. Epidermal and dermal damage to the skin was measured semiquantitatively.