Impalpable testicle

[Keepingsmiling2]

My son is almost 3 and we think he has an impalpable testicle. We know it should have been picked up sooner and feel terrible about it but wanted to know if anyone has any experience of this being treated in a child the same age or older?

My son had an undescended testicle at birth. It used to be there some of time but would disappear. They monitored him and then operated at 5. Perhaps slightly different if your child's is never there. Is he getting it checked now?

My son had an undescended testicle which was picked up on at birth. He had an operation shortly after his 3rd birthday but it had to be removed as it hadn’t grown fully. This is rare though, in most cases it’s a simple matter of moving the testicle down. Doctors said his fertility would still be fine in the future.

Thank you both. We have an appointment on Monday. I don't know yet if it's not there or it's very high up in the abdomen.

SparkelTwilight - I'm sorry to hear that. can I ask how old your son is now? And is there anything he has to do differently or has to be careful of?

In many cases, the surgeon will be able to find the testicle and "milk" it back into the scrotum, i.e. it is a retractile rather than an undescended testicle and will likely resolve by puberty. If it is undescended then it's a pretty straightforward (and very elegant) operation to sort it out without any effects on future fertility etc.

Keepsmiling - thank you, he is still 3, operation was 5 months ago. He has to be careful with sports, etc when older. We were told to come straight to a&e if he ever has an injury to that area, just in case.

They offer a choice to have a prosthetic one put in when he is older for cosmetic reasons. Incidentally, my dad had a similar operation as a child and only has one testicle now, so it’s probably a genetic thing with my DS.

My DH had undescended testicles which weren't operated on until he was 2 and 7 respectively. He is completely infertile, which we were advised is due to the lateness of the surgery. So I'm afraid it was catastrophic for him as an adult. No issues as a kid though.

Slightly different here, my ds testicle twisted in my womb, he lost it and has grown up with just one, his fertility will not be affected and he has the option of a prosthetic testicle when he's stopped growing, he will be 13 next week and he plays football and it doesn't hold him back and thus far he is against the surgery!

My son had an undesccended testicle which wasn’t realised until he was 18 months old.

He had surgery when he had just turned two to try and locate the testicle and bring it down but when they found it it was underdeveloped and basically dead tissue and so was removed.

My son is 4 now and understands he only has one testicle instead of two like most other boys/men have.

I was really upset about it at first but it is what it is. I do worry about the impacts of it when he hits puberty, starts having girlfriends etc but I will cross that bridge when we come to it.