Missing testicles

[Llareggub]

So, DS, who is 3, does not appear to have any testicles. I've had him checked over by the GP who couldnt find them either and he is referring DS to outpatients to see a specialist.

I wondered if anyone had any experience of this? What might the treatment be?

How has he got to age three before yo have noticed? My boys had their testicles checked regularly eg newborn check before discharge, 6 week check etc.

Have they only just disappeared, Im struggling to understand how you could have changed his nappies for two years and not noticed.

Thanks Aitch, that's a really helpful response. Quite clearly I don't feel bad enough as it is. Luckily my GP isn't as judgemental and was quick to reassure me.

Of course he has had his routine checks.

llareggub - sorry that you got such unhelpful response from Aitchdee.

I've heard of a condition called undescended testicles which seems treatable though it is never nice to think about your dc having to go through any treatment. Could this be it? www.nhs.uk/conditions/undescendedtesticles/Pages/Introduction.aspx

If they were there at routine checks they've possibly retracted?

"Sometimes a child?s testicle will drop, but then retract or pull back into the scrotum. This is not considered an undescended testicle. This happens because of the strength of the muscles (cremasteric reflex) that retract the testicles before puberty. This is considered fairly normal and does not require surgery. "

Am no expert though, the doc will help...

Hi Llareggub - sounds like undescended testicles, where they have stayed inside the body rather than come down into the scrotum. I think it's pretty common. My eldest DS had this but it was only picked up when he saw a specialist at 10 months (he had another issue in that department as well which is why we saw consultant). It was strange as I was pretty sure I had felt them. Anyway, he had gone through midwives, GP and one consultant in the checks after birth and none had picked it up so don't beat yourself up. He had the operation to bring them down at age 2 - he just has 4 small scars from the surgery. It's a quick, routine operation done in a day, although a child having surgery is never a nice experience. If it helps, my DH also had this and it wasn't picked up until he started school - he had surgery age 6 and has gone on to have 3 children.

Glad you're seeing someone now who will hopefully diagnose and sort it out - and your DS will hopefully remember nothing about it.

Sorry for the brief response before, was bfing. Undescended testicles are a routine procedure but it's possible as I said that they were descended but have since retracted which is entirely different.

It's worth mentioning I think that the Aitch who replied on here isn't 'Aitch'. Just so there's no confusion. V different posting styles.

I know you must be v worried atm, any health issues with dc send me reeling. Take care.

At ds2's 6m check when he was a baby there was a doctor who was somewhat evangelical about scrotum checking boys. According to her they need to be checked often to make sure the testes haven't retracted, she told me I should be checking my older boy as well and should be checking both of them for a few years yet.

She seemed to think it was fairly common.

I think aitch is getting confused between scrotum and testicles.... One is the sack that holds the other, it's possible to have a scrotal sac which has no testes inside but looks normal

I'm sorry OP, reading back my reply to you, I do sound very mean. I didn't do it on purpose, just posted what I was thinking, without really thinking about it, iykwim.

My ds has retractile testicles, where they tend to spend most of their time up inside and pop down occasionally. He's 2 and 2 months. They were there when they examined him in the hospital at birth and again at his 6 weeks check. After that we hardly saw them for the next 18 months. They did start to make an occasional appearance after that but it was still pretty rare so I asked his paediatrician about it (he was seeing them for another issue) and she referred him to a paediatric urologist as she couldn't find them at all. The urologist found them straight away, just a little further up inside (he just poke around, nothing invasive or painful). He wasn't worried, seeing we do see them occasionally, but has asked us to come back in a year for a check-up. I had a look at my DS's red book and there is a box on the newborn check for the doctor/nurse to tick. Maybe have a look there to see if your DS's was ticked? One thing our paediatrician suggested was checking when he's in a hot bath as they're more likely to come down when he's hot.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I will give him a bath tonight and see if he will let me inspect him. He is stupidly excited about his trip to the hospital.

I hope his trip to the hospital lives up to expectations!

DS (13 months) has retractile testicles. Sometimes they're there, sometimes they're not. But I only noticed this after a health visitor said that she couldn't see his testicles at one of his weigh-ins.

DS's testicles were there at both of his newborn checks and at his 8 weeks check. And not being familiar with what baby boy testicles should look like, I was blissfully unaware of their retractile nature until the HV pointed it out. She also advised checking his testicles when he's in a nice warm bath.