Undescended Testicle

Overview

A small percentage of full-term baby boys and a larger number of premature infants have an empty scrotum on one side at birth (undescended testicle). If the testicle does not descend into the scrotum by age 1, the child will need treatment. Pediatric urologists at Mayo Clinic in Rochester have extensive experience in treating undescended testicles (testes) and perform surgery to correct this condition every week.

Treatment options

A hormone (human chorionic gonadotropin) can be injected to stimulate movement of the testicle into the scrotum.

Surgery is the other option. The surgical procedure to correct the problem is called orchiopexy. Mayo Clinic offers laparoscopic (minimally invasive) techniques to both diagnose and treat children with undescended testicles. First, the surgeon makes an incision in the groin and frees the spermatic cord from the surrounding tissues. Then the surgeon makes another small incision in the scrotum to create a pouch, into which the testicle is carefully placed. This surgery is done as an outpatient.

About undescended testicle

In normal male development in the womb, the testicles form in the abdomen and move down into the scrotum before birth. In up to 30 percent of boys born prematurely, and 4 percent of full-term male infants, one testicle remains in the abdomen or only part way down toward the scrotum. This condition usually corrects itself without treatment within the first year of life.

A male with only one healthy testicle can still have normal erections and produce adequate sperm to conceive a child. Left untreated, however, an undescended testicle can cause fertility problems later in life. Also, the risk of testicular cancer in undescended testicles is 4 to 10 times greater than normal. There is also a slight risk that an undescended testicle will twist and that blood flow will be cut off to the testicle (testicular torsion).