Patent Processus Vaginalis in Pediatric Communicating Hydroceles: To ligate or not to ligate

Patent Processus Vaginalis in Pediatric Communicating Hydroceles: To ligate or not to ligate | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Patent Processus Vaginalis in Pediatric Communicating Hydroceles: To ligate or not to ligate Emmanuel I. Nwangwu, Elochukwu P. Nwankwo, Uchechukwu O. Ezomike, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9172124/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background High ligation of the patent processus vaginalis (PPV) is conventionally performed for communicating hydroceles, as it is believed to decrease the likelihood of recurrence. Objective To compare complication rates in children who had excision and ligation of PPV and those who had excision without ligation of PPV during surgery for communicating hydrocele. Methods The study was a prospective randomized study of children with communicating hydroceles. Participants were randomized into two groups: ligation and non-ligation. Postoperative complications were systematically documented. Data were entered and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 21. Results were presented as percentages and in tabular form. The Student's t-test was applied for comparisons of quantitative variables, while the Chi-square test was used for qualitative variables. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Sixty-eight patients (65males) with 70 communicating hydroceles (two bilateral hydroceles) aged 1 year to 15 years were used. Three patients had scrotal hematoma(4.3%). Of these, 2(2.9%) occurred in non-ligation group and 1(1.4%) in Ligation group ( p = 0.56). The scrotal hematoma resolved over 14–21 days. The mean duration of surgery for Non-ligation group was 32.8 ± 5.1 minutes; the Ligation group, 34.4 ± 9.8 minutes, and they were comparable. ( p = 0.394). There was no recurrence and no development of an inguinal hernia. Conclusion There is no significant difference in complication rates between the ligation and non-ligation of a patent processus vaginalis in pediatric communicating hydroceles. Communicating hydrocele Non-ligation Ligation Patent processus vaginalis Pediatric Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9172124","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":619191488,"identity":"7d7c0feb-6700-47ed-a914-b176917545b9","order_by":0,"name":"Emmanuel I. Nwangwu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Emmanuel","middleName":"I.","lastName":"Nwangwu","suffix":""},{"id":619191489,"identity":"dd532313-1855-456d-93cd-ceef4780a54b","order_by":1,"name":"Elochukwu P. Nwankwo","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Elochukwu","middleName":"P.","lastName":"Nwankwo","suffix":""},{"id":619191493,"identity":"a2089561-5656-4996-a91d-c29cd84ec544","order_by":2,"name":"Uchechukwu O. Ezomike","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Uchechukwu","middleName":"O.","lastName":"Ezomike","suffix":""},{"id":619191495,"identity":"a554eae5-004a-4117-9ae7-7f130f3b5e5d","order_by":3,"name":"Obinna N. Anikwe","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Obinna","middleName":"N.","lastName":"Anikwe","suffix":""},{"id":619191498,"identity":"f606f3ac-18ee-4a51-a7ac-b8b41249bc6f","order_by":4,"name":"Vincent C. Enemuo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vincent","middleName":"C.","lastName":"Enemuo","suffix":""},{"id":619191500,"identity":"de63e53b-a44a-4698-82c5-373c0d9c1a0c","order_by":5,"name":"Sebastian Ekenze","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sebastian","middleName":"","lastName":"Ekenze","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-19 17:53:12","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9172124/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9172124/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108922276,"identity":"b8f3afaf-c130-4d38-b813-ee240c84dcaa","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-10 19:09:44","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":243296,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9172124/v1_covered_85451a59-e678-4290-a27f-acee6380dbe4.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Patent Processus Vaginalis in Pediatric Communicating Hydroceles: To ligate or not to ligate","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Communicating hydrocele, Non-ligation, Ligation, Patent processus vaginalis, Pediatric","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9172124/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9172124/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBackground\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh ligation of the patent processus vaginalis (PPV) is conventionally performed for communicating hydroceles, as it is believed to decrease the likelihood of recurrence.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eObjective\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo compare complication rates in children who had excision and ligation of PPV and those who had excision without ligation of PPV during surgery for communicating hydrocele.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMethods\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study was a prospective randomized study of children with communicating hydroceles. Participants were randomized into two groups: ligation and non-ligation. Postoperative complications were systematically documented. Data were entered and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 21. Results were presented as percentages and in tabular form. The Student's t-test was applied for comparisons of quantitative variables, while the Chi-square test was used for qualitative variables. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eResults\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSixty-eight patients (65males) with 70 communicating hydroceles (two bilateral hydroceles) aged 1 year to 15 years were used. Three patients had scrotal hematoma(4.3%). Of these, 2(2.9%) occurred in non-ligation group and 1(1.4%) in Ligation group (\u003cem\u003ep\u0026thinsp;=\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;0.56). The scrotal hematoma resolved over 14\u0026ndash;21 days. The mean duration of surgery for Non-ligation group was 32.8\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;5.1 minutes; the Ligation group, 34.4\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;9.8 minutes, and they were comparable. (\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.394). There was no recurrence and no development of an inguinal hernia.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eConclusion\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere is no significant difference in complication rates between the ligation and non-ligation of a patent processus vaginalis in pediatric communicating hydroceles.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Patent Processus Vaginalis in Pediatric Communicating Hydroceles: To ligate or not to ligate","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-10 20:10:12","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9172124/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"e053d4b2-b781-4ac9-9a55-1ca2dd66fd80","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 10th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Rejected","date":"2026-05-10T18:54:14+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-02T18:16:20+00:00","index":13,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-10T19:09:07+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-10 20:10:12","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9172124","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9172124","identity":"rs-9172124","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}