Undescended testes in children
Autori:
Anko Antabak, Mario Koporčić, Dino Papeš, Stanko Ćavar, Miran Pasini, Krešimir Bulić, Tomislav Luetić, Ivan Jelčić
Sažetak
Summary
Cryptorchidism (undescended testicle), the absence of one or both testicles in the normal scrotal position, can be congenital or acquired. Congenital, noticeable already at birth, is caused by the stagnation (intraabdominal, inguinal or high scrotal) of the testis on its normal path of descent. Congenital cryptorchidism is one of the most common congenital anomalies, occurring in 4% of healthy term newborns and about 45% of premature babies. Cryptorchid testicles, if they remain in an abnormal position for a long time, go through certain histological changes, which lead to reduced fertility and an increased risk for the development of malignant testicular
tumors. Therefore, it is recommended to complete the surgical treatment by 12, at the latest 18 months of age. The aim of this paper was to determine whether we follow these guidelines. We studied the period from 2011 to 2020. A total of 598 children were included in this study, who were between 0 and 18 years old at the time of the operation. Out of the total number of children, 413 (69.1%) had unilateral undescended testicles, of which 245 were on the right and 168 on the left side. Bilateral cryptorchidism was present in 158 (26.4%) children who were operated on in the same act and another 27 (4.5%) children who were operated on one side first and then
on the other., One hundred and ten(18.4%) children analyzed in this paper were operated in the first 16 months of life. In the first three years of life, 279 (46.7 %) children were operated , and by the time they started school, 431 (72 %) children. The average age of the children when orchidopexy was performed was 57.8 months. There is no significant difference considering whether it was unilateral or bilateral cryptorchidism. Throughout the entire monitoring period (ten years), there was no difference in the average age of the children, nor was there a tendency of decline. It can be concluded that only a small number of children are operated on within the first 18 months of life, and the absence of a tendency to decrease the age at the time of surgery in the observed period is worrying.