Cryptorchidism

[Michiko]

Cryptorchidism is failure of one or both testes to descend into the scrotum; in younger children, it is typically accompanied by inguinal hernia. Diagnosis is by testicular examination, sometimes followed by laparoscopy to look for testes that cannot be felt on examination. Imaging studies are rarely indicated. Treatment is surgical orchiopexy.
Cryptorchidism affects about 3% of term infants and up to 30% of preterm infants; two thirds of undescended testes spontaneously descend within the first 4 months of life. Thus, about 0.8% of male infants require treatment.
Eighty percent of undescended testes are diagnosed at birth. The remainder are diagnosed during childhood or early adolescence; these are usually caused by an ectopic gubernacular attachment and become apparent after a somatic growth spurt.

[Tariq Zaki]

A condition in which one or both of the testes fail to descend from the abdomen into the scrotum.