Undescended testicle, anyone with experience?

[gracej]

DS is 9.5 months and one of his testicles has not descended yet. I have been told that if it does not descend by the time he is 12 months, he will have to have an operation.
I AM DREADING IT. Have any of you gone through this with your DSs, how is the operation? Is it painful for them after?
Thanks for any details.

Yes, my ds had this.

They did the operation when he was 16 months, on a day surgery basis. The child has to come in on an empty stomach which I thought would be a nightmare, but actually they just get a bit floppy and spaced out.

They put emla (anaesthetic) cream on his hand for about 20 mins before putting in a needle; the stuff was so effective he never noticed the needle going in (I was holding him so that hand dangled down behind me, and he couldn't see what they were doing). The worst bit was when they administer the anaesthetic -- mums are allowed in until the baby is under, which is great for the baby but not so good for the mother, as they look terribly small and vulnerable when out cold. My ds also went a bit blue (not dangerously so, but still) so the last thing I heard as they ushered me out was someone shouting, "Oxygen".

Then you get to pace the corridors for the duration of the operation and the recovery period. At our hospital they kept the parents out until the baby woke up from the anaesthetic -- in ds's case he was so sleepy that they called me in anyway. He opened his eyes, smiled at me, reached out for the bottle of milk I'd prepared, drained all 9 oz of it, smiled again and went back to sleep.

A few hours later we went home. And that was it. You have to keep the nappy very loose for a little while, so need to use disposables if you're a clothie. And they advise you to give calpol/nurofen even if the baby doesn't appear to be in pain, on the basis that it's easier to keep them pain free than it is to get rid of pain once it's built up. So we kept syringing down the medicine for a few days. His testicle looked a bit bruised for a while, but he never seemed to be in any real discomfort.

The op was a complete success, he had two very small incisions, one in the scrotum and one in the abdomen. Both were done in natural skinfolds and are now invisible (he's 6 now). You need to be very upfront with the child about it as he gets older -- they need to learn to check regularly for lumps. Ds is quite happy to correct his mates if they don't call a testicle a testicle!

Do CAT me if you want to ask more.

Ds had unddescended testicle - it descended by the time he was 8 months and it was marked in his development review as decending well at 8 weeks so luckily he didnt have the op. Was a scarey thought at the time.

Yes I have had two sons with undescended tesicles. DS1 had the operations when he was 3 and as Frogs describes that is exactly how it was with us. Very quick recovery and I do believe that it is worse for the parents. I must admit though his undescended testicle is smaller than the other so not sure if this will catch up or not. DS2 was not so lucky in that they could not find a testicle so had nothing to bring down. I was really upset at the time and was told by the Consultant that he can have a 'false' one when he is about 13/14. He did say though that most young boys choose not to as it involves another op. It's really strange but although I was really upset at the time it has passed and have just accepted that this is how it is. I am planning to tell him when he is about 8 and advise that he should not tell his friends as I knew a boy at school who was teased. We actually did not tell any of our friends either as their kids go to the same school. We told them the op was for a hernia. Sorry to ramble but has just brought back some memories. Anyway the op is ok and absolutely nothing to worry about. Best of luck!!XX

Frogs, thanks for your description, sounds like the operation was a success, I really hope we are as lucky as you. The anaesthetic sounds really scary, seeing your little one so vulnerable. I wonder if most operations are as successful as yours was. It is just a delicate part of the body. Did you put any cream on the wound to help it heal and avoid the scar?

Flowertop, sorry to hear about DS2, but happy that you have now accepted it, I guess there is nothing we can do or could have done to prevent this. I a surprised that they actually went through the operation without being certain that they could descent the testicle, did they do any sort of scan to check the position of the testicle beforehand?

Awen, lucky you!!!

Just want to echo what everyone else has said really. DS1 had an undescended testicle and had the op about 2 weeks before his first birthday. He was very grumpy after he woke but within a few hours he was running around as usual. I had a look for his scars recently after a similar thread and it was very hard to find, he is 7 now btw. I don't think you could ever see them 'accidently', you'd have to know what you were looking for.

Ds had this at his 6 month check right untill he was 11 motnhs but they came down of there own free will.

Charlee, how old was your DS when it descended? I presume he was over 11 months? (maybe there is still hope for us!)

Gracej, it is a sobby moment for the mother, but really not a problem in medical terms. At our hospital (central London teaching hospital) we had a very experienced (female) paediatric surgeon, who seemed to do a whole morning of testicles and hypospadias ops per week. To call it a 'conveyor belt' gives the impression that they didn't care, which wasn't the case, but it really was routine, in, do the op and out again. The whole experience is easier with a younger child, because they don't realise what is going on and therefore don't feel any fear. And the fear is the worst part my older dd1 had an operation on a huge abscess in her neck at the age of 6 and it was very hard dealing with her fears and anxieties. Whereas a baby or toddler just responds to what is actually going on as long as the medical team are experienced and the pain relief is good, they shouldn't feel any pain and are therefore unlikely to be upset by it.

We didn't use any cream on the wounds afterwards IIRC -- the incisions are tiny (less than 1cm) and in natural skin creases. I tried to get ds to find them for me a few months ago, and neither of us could see where the scars had been.

hth

We are currently also going through this DS is now 19m, and has two undescended testicles.

It was spotted at 11m by the HV (I didn't notice ) and we were referred to a paed almost immediately. As they were quite low (just above his willy) they decided to leave it to see if they came down of their own accord. It was thought v.unlikely that they would, but they just wanted to give them the chance. They haven't come down though, so we have another appt this month, when I think they will schedule the op

I was worried about the implications re fertility of waiting to see what happened, but they said it wasn't a problem. Doesn't stop you worrying though does it.

Fingers crossed that your ds's testicle finds it's way!

My DS had the op in June at age 4 - we hadn't spotted it before his pre-nursery check up last August.

He sailed through it all. The "magic" cream didn't work on him - they couldn't find any veins in the back of his hands and he was terrified of the mask so they put it into his wrist. He cried but now doesn't remember that bit. He just remembers that they "forgot to put the mask on".

He played with his lego today and built a hospital and had to have a bit on the roof where you could go and get a scar like his! He was so proud of it he even showed them in school!!

yes my ds 1(4 in 2 weeks) had an op for this in april. He is well and recovered great

It does seem to be a more common problem than I thought.
Laura, the fertility question did come to mind, but since they told you it shouldn't be a problem I am more relaxed. Did they manage to see where the testicles were by touch only? Or is there any sort of scan that can be taken to see the exact position?

We have been referred, but three months later, we still do not have the app at the hospital!!! Apparently they are "assessing the urgency of our case".
I do feel better after seeing that most of you have had positive outcomes!!

my BIL has one and has successfully afthered 2 sprogs with no trying, IYSWIM

Message withdrawn

The HV & doctor couldn't feel them at all. But the doc at the hospital was a lot rougher (dh was cringing!) and found them very easily (he even popped them up for us to have a feel!). Now that we know where they are, we can feel them in the bath, so have a try at that. He has also had a scan to check they are definitely there, and to measure the size for future reference. The scan was just the ultrasound that you have when pg.

We were referred v.quickly (I think we were seen within a couple of weeks), but ds doesn't have either testicle descended and his scrotum is small (as no testicles are stretching it), so I think they were worried in case something a bit more serious was going on. The first appt at the hospital was with a paeditrican (I know I've spelt that wrong!), and they referred us to a surgeon who does the op. That was about two months later. He has gave us another appt 6m later to see if they came down by themselves, and we had the scan between that appt, and our next one which is in two weeks.

I think it helps not to read too much, or you can scare yourself. I'm sure if it was v.urgent, they would treat it as such, and not leave them to see what happens. I hope that's right anyway

Have you rung the hosp to query your appt? I have done that a couple of times and got the appt moved a few weeks earlier.

Oh yes, the doctors are quite rough with boys' little bits! I guess you need to have a fairly robust feel around to see what's going on -- I could never find ds's testicle even after it was brought down, but the Drs assured me it was there. Ds was never in pain, but clearly some of the checkups were uncomfortable for him.

In one case ds was mumbling for several weeks afterwards in slightly incoherent 2yo way about 'lady fiddled with my willy', and I got a bit paranoid that nursery staff might call social services. Eeek. Hence the need to call a spade a spade, bodywise.

when ds1 was born this was when it was noticed about his undescended teste. We were informed they would not operate till he was 3 and he was 3.5 when done

Highlander, you have made me feel so much better. Not sure if you have read all threads but my DS2 has only 1 (he is four) and I have been so worried that he would be infertile. The consultant did say that the chance of fathering was a little less than the 'man on the street' IFSWIM. If I can be a little personal do you know how your BIL coped with just one and did everyone know at school etc etc. XX