children s health issues
Undescended Testes and Retractile Testes
Undescended testes
About 3 of every 100 boys who are born at full term (9 months) have an undescended testis at birth. However, about 30 of every 100 boys born Preterm (Premature) Newborns have an undescended testis. Boys whose family members had undescended testes also are more likely to have the condition. Usually only one testis fails to descend, but in about 10% both testes are affected. Usually the undescended testis is in the inguinal canal but sometimes it is within the abdomen. About two thirds of undescended testes descend on their own by 4 months of age in full-term infants or, for premature infants, by 4 months after the date they would have been born if they were not premature. Testes that remain in the abdomen at birth are much less likely to descend on their own. Undescended testes rarely cause symptoms. However, undescended testes can impair sperm production later in life and increase the risk of Testicular Cancer . Undescended testes in the abdomen can become twisted ( Doctors do a physical examination of the scrotum to detect the testes at birth and at each annual Preventive Health Care Visits in Children . If they cannot feel one or both testes, they make sure that the testes are not simply retracted into the inguinal canal (see If the testis has not descended by about 6 months of age in full-term infants and by 1 year of age in premature infants, surgery is needed. Depending on the location of the testis, it may be brought down into the scrotum via a surgical procedure through an open incision or by laparoscopy (in which doctors look inside the abdominal cavity using an endoscope). If the infant has an inguinal hernia, that is also repaired. Because children who have undescended testes are at an increased risk of developing Testicular Cancer , after puberty they should examine their testes for lumps every month. 