Newborn with undescended testicle

BeershevaBubby

Thu, Jun 25 2009, 3:11 pm

YALT wrote:

YESHASettler wrote:

They want to wait until the testicle matures a bit more and the veins and arteries get bigger before surgically moving it.

It's a fine balance - on the one hand, we really should do the hernia operation ASAP before Ch'vSh a problem arises, but we want to deal with the testicle issue as late as possible... so we need to find a medium point to deal with both issues at once.

Oh, boy! That is quite tricky!
My best wishes for Elchonon that all goes well, and the surgery is done at the right time, and he should have a speedy recovery!

Amen and thank you!

Hashem_Yaazor

Thu, Jun 25 2009, 3:15 pm

YALT wrote:

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

amother wrote:

My son had this too & had surgery at 16 mo. That was when our urologist felt was optimum in his case. We also gave him hormones to help it descend. The sugeon got the testicle into the right place but it couldn't be connected properly. He has another one that works fine.We were told that this testicle will produce sperm but will not be "dispensed " (sorry, looking for a good word here) normaly. The sperm could be extracted by a doctor. We are not worried about this at all.

Does that mean that such a child will only be able to have children thru IVF?

No!!
A man has 2 testicles usually. Even if one cannot release sperm, the other one should be sufficient to fertilize an egg....

According to what Amother wrote, a doctor needs to extract the sperm.
From what (I think) I know, you need 2 testicles to work together in order for the sperm to leave the man. In which case, Amother's son, as she wrote, will need a dr to extract the sperm. I think what they do is they extract sperm, extract an egg from wife, grow the 2 together, and then replace it back inside the wife.
I could have all my details wrong. The one who explained it to me is unavailable.

So then maybe I'm wrong. Even if so, IUI is less invasive than IVF.

Mimisinger

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 10:04 pm

amother wrote:

At my sons 4 year old checkup last week, my dr. mentioned that he may have this condition. I am surprised noone noticed this before. She said we could wait another year until we take care of it, see if it corrects itself. Seems everyone else had this taken care of at a much younger age, am I making a mistake waiting??!

4 YEARS OLD?????? That's waaayyyy too old. Change your ped. and get to a pediatric urologist!

How could no one notice???????

amother

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 10:10 pm

Mimisinger wrote:

amother wrote:

4 YEARS OLD?????? That's waaayyyy too old. Change your ped. and get to a pediatric urologist!

How could no one notice???????

Well actually this is a new pediatrician... I think the other one may have missed it... whats the reason that I should do it soon? Is there a danger in waiting?

Mimisinger

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 10:16 pm

amother wrote:

Mimisinger wrote:

amother wrote:

4 YEARS OLD?????? That's waaayyyy too old. Change your ped. and get to a pediatric urologist!

How could no one notice???????

Well actually this is a new pediatrician... I think the other one may have missed it... whats the reason that I should do it soon? Is there a danger in waiting?

#1 I would seriously report the first doctor. This is the FIRST thing the doc checks at the well baby visits.
#2 Yes there is danger in waiting. As the child grows, if the testicle is not put into the sac, it can get crushed in the tube, or where ever else it is

My ds had to get surgery and they told us at birth they would wait until 1 yo to see if it had descended. If it had not, they would bring it down at 1 yo. I used a really highly sought after PU, call one! Four is getting up there! I don't know how old is too old. but the longer you wait, the worse for fertility it becomes and that means for both testicles.

amother

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 11:36 pm

Mimisinger wrote:

amother wrote:

4 YEARS OLD?????? That's waaayyyy too old. Change your ped. and get to a pediatric urologist!

How could no one notice???????

You're right it's surprising that no one noticed, but I don't think the age is a reason to flip out. My son was being monitored since he was a newborn and they didnt do the surgery until after his third bday. We don't live in America but I do live in a country where the medical field is very up to date.

YALT

Mon, Apr 26 2010, 8:58 am

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

Everything I'm seeing online is saying that one testicle is sufficient to release sperm without need of fertility help. Perhaps those sources are wrong. I don't really know, but I don't think it's something to fret over right now.

I didn't do any research into it online or anything, but I'm telling you what a person very close to me has explained. Her husband only has 1 descended testicle, and is able to create but not release sperm. Therefore, they go thru IVF to have children. Or something like that. Don't know the dif between IVF & IVI. But the term she had been using was IVF.

amother

Tue, Apr 27 2010, 12:21 pm

Aribenj wrote:

My youngest had it when he was born. And now B'H it's back where it belongs.

Dh had that issue when he was a baby and his never came down on their own and when he was 5 he had to have surgery. But B'H it never affected his fertility.

I am the amother with the 4 year old. Why didnt they operate on your husband until 5? I wonder if it is in my husband's family but I am not exactly going to call up my MIL or SILs and ask embarrassed

amother

Thu, Apr 29 2010, 3:05 am

YALT wrote:

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

This is absolutely not correct.
Each testicle works independently of the other. Each develops and matures sperm until they are ready for release. This does not happen until puberty. That is why undescended testicles don't cause sperm production problems until puberty.
(note: 4 years old is not the age of puberty)
After the sperm are released from the testictles, they have a journey inside the male, where they pickup 2 extra fluids that help with sustaining the sperm until it meets the egg, and preparing the "birth canal" to make it more hospitable for sperm.

I think your friend's husband must have an additional problem, not just undescended testes.

YALT

Thu, Apr 29 2010, 6:11 am

amother wrote:

YALT wrote:

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

Well, since AMOTHER seems to know best.... I take back whatever I wrote.
But I'm just trying to understand: you wrote "undescended testicles don't cause sperm production problems until puberty" - but at the age of 40, has he not yet reached puberty? I'm not talking about a 4-yr old kid. I'm talking about a grown man. I think you're misunderstanding this story. This man did NOT have the surgery done to bring down the testes. So if he's reached the age of puberty - actually, well passed!, and he still only has 1 testicle in it's correct place, are you saying he still can have children without any issues?

YALT

Thu, Apr 29 2010, 6:39 am

OK. I decided to google it and see what comes up. Here are the results. Apparently, even if the surgery is done, there is still the possibility. So can you imagine what would happen if he's never had the surgery?
If AMOTHER would post her name, I could have pm'ed her this info, rather than posting here, where others may start to worry.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medline.....3.htm

Possible Complications
If one or both testicles do not descend, a man may be infertile later in life.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/heal.....tions

In order for testicles to develop and function normally, they need to be slightly cooler than normal body temperature. The scrotum provides this cooler environment. Until a boy is 3 or 4 years old, the testicles undergo changes that affect how well they function later.
An undescended testicle isn't in a cooler environment. This might increase the risk of complications later in life. These complications include:
* Testicular cancer. Testicular cancer usually begins in the cells in the testicle that produce immature sperm. What causes these cells to develop into cancer is unknown. Men who've had an undescended testicle have an increased risk of testicular cancer.
* Fertility problems. Low sperm counts, poor sperm quality and impaired fertility are more likely to occur among men who have had an undescended testicle.

http://www.cornellurology.com/.....shtml
FOLLOW-UP
Long-term issues include infertility and tumorigenesis. After the initial post-operative visits, children should be seen 1 year after surgery to note the location and size of the testes. At puberty, boys should be taught how to perform monthly testicular self-examinations. The threshold for future ultrasound examination.
Once the boys reach adulthood, issues regarding fertility must be further explored with a urologist.