The 'Historical' Case

Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Dirk Schultheiss
Consultant Urologist and Andrologist
Chairman, History Office, European Association of Urology (EAU)

Department of Urology
Protestant Hospital Gießen
Paul-Zipp-Str. 171, 35398 Gießen, Germany
Email: dirk.schultheiss@urologie-giessen.de

A 29 years old male patient presented to a Chicago urologist in July, 1915 with bilateral testicular atrophy. The right testicle had atrophied after a football trauma at the age of 17.

After that virility was unimpaired and the patient married three years later but never fathered children with his wife. Early in 1915 he then suffered spontaneous complete atrophy of the contralateral testicle and after that developed pysical and mental weakness as well as complete impotence. Examination by the urologist showed non-detectable atrophied testicles on both sides.

What was the treatment option performed by the urologist in 1915 to improve sexual function and general well-being of this patient?

1. Oral treatment with yohimbine
2. Repeated subcutaneous injections of a liquid obtained from the testicles of adult animals
3. Intrascrotal testicular transplantation of donor testis from dead humans
4. Cellular therapy with injection of a suspension of fetal cells