Age at surgery and outcomes of an undescended testis: A single center experience

Abstract

Objective - To evaluate age at surgery and outcomes of undescended testis (UDT) of boys who underwent surgical treatment at our institution.

Methods - The retrospective study was conducted from December 2006 until December 2016 analysing the medical documentation of boys with UDT who were treated with orchidopexy. Age of boys at the time of diagnosis, age at which orchidopexy was performed, results of intraoperative observations and treatment complications were analysed.

Results - Orchidopexy was performed in 562 boys with UDT. The median age at the time of orchidopexy was 50.5 months (IQR 22 – 117); orchidopexy was most frequently performed between the ages of 4 and 6 in 35.2% (198/562) boys, while the least number of boys 3.5% (20/562) underwent orchidopexy during the first year of life. The most common form was unilateral UDT with the prevalence of 93% (523/562), out of which 67.6% (380/562) of cases had UDT located in the inguinal canal. The rarest location of UDT was intraabdominal

with the prevalence of 3.9% (22/562). Complications such as retraction of testis out of scrotum, testicular atrophy, postoperative hernia and wound infection were observed in 1.7% (10/562), 0.53% (3/562), 1.2% (7/562) and 0.88% (5/562), respectively. The efficacy of orchidopexy was 96.6%.

Conclusion - Although the most boys included in the study had surgery at a later age than recommended, the success rate of orhidopexy was significant with the small number of complications. Our findings support that orhidopexy is both the standard and the option for the successful management of UDT.