Undescended Testicle
- An undescended testicle (cryptorchidism) is a testicle that hasn’t moved into its proper position in the bag of skin hanging below the penis (scrotum) before birth.
- Usually just one testicle is affected, but about 10 percent of the time both testicles are undescended.
- An undescended testicle is uncommon in general, but common among baby boys born prematurely.
- The vast majority of the time, the undescended testicle moves into the proper position on its own, within the first few months of life.
- If your son has an undescended testicle that doesn’t correct itself, surgery can relocate the testicle into the scrotum
Symptoms:-
- Not seeing or feeling a testicle where you would expect it to be in the scrotum is the main sign of an undescended testicle.
- Testicles form in the abdomen during fetal development.
- During the last couple of months of normal fetal development, the testicles gradually descend from the abdomen through a tube-like passageway in the groin (inguinal canal) into the scrotum.
- With an undescended testicle, that process stops or is delayed.
Causes:-
- The exact cause of an undescended testicle isn’t known.
- A combination of genetics, maternal health and other environmental factors might disrupt the hormones, physical changes and nerve activity that influence the development of the testicles.
Diagnosis and Treatment:-
If your son has an undescended testicle,doctor might recommend surgery for diagnosis and potential treatment:-
- Laparoscopy:-A small tube containing a camera is inserted through a small incision in your son’s abdomen.
Laparoscopy is done to locate an intra-abdominal testicle.
The doctor might be able to fix the undescended testicle during the same procedure, but an additional surgery might be needed in some cases.
- Open surgery:-Direct exploration of the abdomen or groin through a larger incision might be necessary in some cases.
- Orchiopexy:-An orchiopexy is a surgery that moves an undescended testicle into the scrotum. An orchiopexy also typically describes the surgery that resolved testicular torsion. The procedure usually takes less than an hour to complete.