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Forum -> Children's Health
Undescended testes- what to tell my son?



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amother


 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 7:42 am
My son is six and needs to have surgery for undescended testes. I am having a hard time figuring out how to explain this to him- any ideas?
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greenfire




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 7:47 am
be direct ... let him know that his testes are stuck inside & they need to do a minor surgery to let them grow outward like all the other boys & he will have to rest for a few days ... reassure him that everything will be okay - as it will

[I'm surprised they didn't do this surgery when he was 2]

good luck !!!
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amother


 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 12:37 pm
I had surgery on an ovary as a young child. The hospital and doctor explained to me exactly what they will do to me and what will be attached to me when I wake up. I went to the hospital for pain and we had no clue what was wrong with me. My mother did tell people (school) I had surgery and will have difficulty walking for a while (stitches at my waist), so people thought I had surgery on my leg.

You need to explain to your DS what will happen. No need to explain why he has testicles, it just a body part. Try to find books about hospital visits, like curious george, so he isnt scared.
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amother


 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 12:56 pm
My son is 9 and also has that problem...dr. said he would needs hormones..I didn't know that surgery was a possibility.
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greenfire




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 1:21 pm
knowledge is power - read read read & be informed

apparently there are several types of testicle issues ... one is undescended - didn't come down and the other is retractile where it goes back in from time to time [when scared or cold]

the next kind which is more worrisome is the ascending testicle which is when it changes as they grow ... surgery before sperm production is important so that it keeps the testicles at the right cooler temperature it needs

"Increasingly, many boys are being diagnosed with an undescended testicle later in childhood, often between 6 and 10 years of age. These boys had normally descended testicles as infants. This condition is called an “ascending testicle”. The cause is uncertain. However, most think that the spermatic cord does not grow normally as the child grows, and gradually the testis becomes undescended."

http://kidshealth.org/parent/p.....html#

http://www.urologyhealth.org/u.....le=64
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amother


 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 2:10 pm
When dh was 16, he had a varicocele surgery (varicocele is enlarged veins in the scrotum that affects fertility). Don't throw tomatoes at me because I think it's disgusting and I'm angry at my in laws for doing this, but they told him that it was related to the path of the urine on the way out of his body. After we got married and he told me that he had a varicocele, I told him what it really was. He was shocked!!! And in denial and furious at his parents for hiding it from him.

OP, I don't think it's a big deal to tell him the truth. He's too young to think too deeply into it.
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greenfire




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 3:10 pm
I'm sorry - but at 16 the guy should be involved in his own medical facts ...

at 6 not so much ... he could run around telling everyone & it might not be the best thing for nosy people to hear
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amother


 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 7:50 pm
Op here
Green fire that's the reason I don't really want to tell him exactly what it is... Don't need him telling all his classmates what's going on
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greenfire




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Apr 23 2014, 8:16 pm
you can tell him without all the fine details ... that's all I'm saying - there's a balance of not enough or too much ... depending on his age & understanding

[& just so you know - the boys I know who had this surgery are now fully grown with babies of their own]
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