Unilateral Absence of a Palpable Vas Deferens-Reply

In Reply.—  Unilateral absence of the kidney has been reported by Rubin¹ in 30% of patients with bilateral congenital absence of the vas deferens.In reviewing many case reports for our article, the incidence of unilateral renal agenesis in the presence of bilateral absence of the vas deferens was approximately 15% to 20%.We feel it is definitely warranted to perform a renal ultrasound examination in patients who present with bilateral absence of the vas deferens.We disagree with Dr Schneiderman regarding the use of gloves in the scrotal examination. Gloves should not be worn except in rare circumstances: patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who have fistulas, patients with draining scrotal abscesses, etc. Gross scrotal abnormalities can be easily detected on examination whether gloves are worn or not. The more subtle scrotal pathological changes and, in particular, the one abnormality that can be fatal to the patient, the testis tumor,