title: The independent functioning of the orchidopexied congenital undescended testis as assessed by positron emission tomography/computed tomography.
abstract: Fertility after orchidopexied undescended testes (UDT) is impaired. Although fertility parameters are known to be more favorable in unilateral cases than in bilateral cases, the exact contribution of the unilateral orchidopexied UDT to fertility is unknown. We used testicular (18)F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG)-uptake assessed by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) to investigate the function of the orchidopexied unilateral congenital UDT, compared to its normally descended counterpart. We hypothesize that the contribution of the orchidopexied unilateral congenital UDT to fertility in adulthood is low. Eleven men who underwent orchidopexy for congenital UDT at the age of 1.9 ± 1.4 (range, 4.5 months -4.0) years were seen in follow-up at the age of 24.1 ± 2.3 (20.6-28.0) years. All underwent physical examination, testicular ultrasonography and PET/CT. Testicular (18)F-FDG-uptake was expressed as the peak Standardized Uptake Value (SUVpeak). The mean SUVpeak of the orchidopexied UDT was 2.74 ± 0.48 (2.13-3.47), which was significantly lower than its counterpart (P = 0.021). Besides, there was no correlation between the testicular volume and the SUVpeak. The orchidopexied congenital UDT has been shown to be less metabolically active than its contralateral counterpart. Nevertheless, we suggest that the operated testes function to some degree.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Chirurgen Noordwest, Medical Center Alkmaar, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Annebeth
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meij-de Vries
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical Center Alkmaar, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sergiy V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Lazarenko
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical Center Alkmaar, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Remco J J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Knol
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Medical Center Alkmaar, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Meijer
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Evelyn M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: van der Plas
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgical Center of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hugo A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Heij
keywords: 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose-uptake; congenital undescended testis; long-term follow-up