title: Effectiveness of primary inguinal orchiopexy as treatment of non-palpable testes in the first two years of age.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Regina Margherita Children's Hospital, Turin, Italy. ferndinandocanavese@hotmail.it
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Canavese
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lala
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Valfrè
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vinardi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bianco
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Cortese
mesh_terms: 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