Effectiveness of primary inguinal orchiopexy as treatment of non-palpable testes in the first two years of age.
OBJECTIVE
The best treatment of non-palpable testes is currently argument of debate. The aim of present study was to describe authors' experience in surgical treatment with inguinal standard orchidopexy of non-palpable testes.


METHODS
In the last 17 years we have treated 2002 cryptorchid testes, among these 327 (16.33%) were non palpable. Age and distribution of cryptorchid testes was: 0-1 y (165 NPT), 1-2 y (84 NPT), 2-5 y (43 NPT), 5-10 y (16 NPT) and >10 y (19 NPT).


RESULTS
Non-palpable testes were diagnosed and treated earlier (76.14% in the first two years). At surgical examination 204 (62.38%) were intrabdominal, 80 (24.46%) were atrophic and 43 (13.14%) vanishing. Among atrophic testes 54 (67.5%) were intracanicular, 21 (26.5%) were at the external inguinal ring, 4 (5%) were intrabdominal and 1 (1.25%) ectopic; among vanishing testes 22 (51.16%) were intrabdominal, 14 (32.55%) intracanicular and 7 (16.27%) at the external ring of inguinal canal.


CONCLUSIONS
Atrophic and vanishing testes were in intrabdominal location in 26 cases: only in these cases (7.95% of all non palpable testes) laparoscopy should have avoided inguinal surgery. Inguinal standard orchiopexy performed as day-surgery with general anaesthesia associated to caudal analgesia should be considered effective and less invasive than laparoscopic approach.
Canavese
F
F
Department of Pediatric Surgery, Regina Margherita Children's Hospital, Turin, Italy. ferndinandocanavese@hotmail.it
Lala
R
R
Valfrè
L
L
Vinardi
S
S
Bianco
E
E
Cortese
M G
MG
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003456:Cryptorchidism / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007264:Inguinal Canal; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013521:Urologic Surgical Procedures, Male / Q000379:methods