Segmental testicular infarction due to cholesterol embolism: not the first case, but the first report

Segmental infarction of the testis represents a rare entity in that there have been fewer than 40 cases documented in the literature. Like global infarction, segmental infarction of the testis can masquerade as a mass lesion or torsion of the testis. Reported herein is a very rare case of segmental testicular infarction due to atheroembolism in a 58-year-old man. The patient presented with severe left testicular pain and underwent left high orchiectomy on the clinical diagnosis of testicular torsion. The testis had a segmental hemorrhagic necrosis around which many cholesterol emboli were observed. This is the first report to describe cholesterol embolism-associated segmental testicular infarction.