DS testicle not descended

[sparklestar4]

Hi,

My DS is 18 weeks old and was referred to Urology at his 6 week check because his left testicle is present but hasn't descended.

We have our first appointment in a couple of weeks. Does anyone have any experience with what Urology do?

We had this with DS, it was found at his 3 day check. Urology investigated, they looked at his scrotum, and the bulge in his groin area (which we thought was a hernia), and said 'yep that needs fixing'. They referred him for surgery, which he had at about 11 months old. It was done as a day surgery at Alder Hey Hospital, under general anasthetic. He had to have no food or milk from midnight the day of the surgery, and we had to be at the hospital for about 6am if I remember rightly. The being at hospital part I remember vividly. They gave him a tiny hospital gown, put numbing cream on his hands so they could put a canula in. They put him under the anasthetic, and then took him off to do the surgery.

The surgery is called an Orchidopexy. They drew the teste down and secured it, he had a few tiny stitches in his scrotum, and some in his groin, the incisions they made were really small. He was grumpy and groggy after the anasthetic, and he was absolutely fine a few days later. His hands were a bit sore for a few days as well from the canulas. He's six now though, and you would never know he had to have it done.

I think it was harder for me and my DH than for DS! He was our first baby and our only one at that point, and I held him while they put him under anasthetic, which I found really scary. Then the wait while they did the surgery, and then woke him up felt like the longest time of my life. But the staff at Alder Hey were absolutely wonderful with him and with us. While they were putting him under one of the nurses blew bubbles to keep him entertained and stop him feeling scared.

DS had a check up a little while later, I think it was about 6 months after the surgery, and they were really happy with him, everything was fine, and he's had no further issues since.

@katmarie Hello, thank you so much for your reply. That's really reassuring and interesting to hear, hopefully it's straight forward for us too.

Thank you again 😊

This happened with my second son, except neither testicle had descended at birth. After about 2h the first one had descended but we left that night with an appt to check his little nutsack again in a few weeks to see if it had appeared. However, a few weeks later we noticed something wasn’t right, on the side without the undescended one it was huge and swollen and bright red. We called 111 who sent us to a&e and it turned out it was in fact an inguinal hernia, which happens when the gap between the abdomen and the genitals hasn’t quite closed up before birth (hence his testicle not descending, it was sort of floating back and forth between the two parts) and because of this opening, part of the intestines can push through and into the scrotum, where of course they’re unwelcome. They are not always dangerous but will always eventually need surgery to close the opening. You do have to be very vigilant though, as if it becomes strangulated they can lose part of their bowel. Things to look out for are large red swollen lumps in his sack on the side where the testicle hasn’t descended. It normally comes and goes and is worse when they’re upset or straining etc. Keep an eye on it and if you notice anything like that go straight to a&e.

My little boy had surgery at 9w which is typically younger than they like, as obviously general anaesthetic on such a small baby isn’t ideal, but his was at risk of strangulation as it wasn’t coming and going anymore so they just did it quickly rather than risk it. The surgery was over quickly, and he has a tiny little scar (he’s almost 4 now) which you can barely even see with the naked eye. Recovery was very easy and we were out of hospital the day after surgery. It’s never as bad as you think it’s going to be. Best of luck, hope it appears soon!

Brilliant post from Katmarie, mirrors our experience exactly. DS kept getting sick on his surgery date so it was moved a few times. DSs testicle that was moved down is still a bit smaller, but it seems to be growing at the same rate. The surgeon said that was normal for him. Good luck to your kid.