Cystic lesions of the testis

Introduction: Cystic tumors of the testis are being found more frequently b y ultrasound. Often the discrimination between these findings and malignant tumours is problematic for the examiner. Case Reports: We present 21 patients who showed no signs of malignancy in t he sonogram nor in in the MRI scan (if performed). 16 of them were under cl inical observation without surgery. In 3 patients, epidermoid cysts were re moved. The other patients underwent surgery as they presented with spermato celes in addition to tubular ectasia. Conclusions: Malignant cystic tumors of the testis can be discriminated fro m benign cystic lesions by ultrasound and in some cases by additional MRI s cans. That means that findings which require surgical exploration can be id entified. Benign types of cystic tumors can be divided into tubular ectasia of the re te testis, simple cysts, cystic dysplasia of the testis and epidermoid cyst s. The latter can be explored with organ preservation. Dermoid cysts can be considered as potentially malignant.