Anyone's son had an undescended testicle which turned out not to be there at all?

[hellywobs]

My ds is 6 and is seeing the consultant tomorrow, probably as a precursor to having an exploratory operation. When he was a baby we noticed he only seemed to have one testicle but when he was 2, a GP said he could feel it. We left it for a while but never ever saw it so talked to another GP, who referred us to a consultant. At that appointment he and his colleague both said they could feel it, so said all was well but we should go back in a year's time.

At that point, couldn't find it (and we've never seen it). So was had an ultrasound scan and the radiologist couldn't see it at all. We went back to see the consultant who was very bemused and said he'd like to carry out an exploratory operation to see if he can find it (or establish that it's not there/has shrivelled or something -or indeed find it and bring it down). The consultant agreed that we should leave it a year as I was nervous about him having an operation, although I know it's important to sort it soon because of the increased risk of cancer if it is hanging around his stomach somewhere.

So; my questions:

Has anyone been in a similar situation with a vanished testicle as opposed to an undescended one?

If so, what was the operation like - how long do they have off school, off playing football, swimming etc

And for those of you with older sons, is this likely to be a real issue in the teenage years? People I've spoken to so far say not, and I kind of figured that by the time a girl gets that close she won't care, but it is a concern.

I just hope that when they do the op they do find it and they can bring it down.

So tomorrow we have the appointment

I don't have quite the same experience but ds1 had an undescended testicle at birth that was not anywhere close to where it should be. Practically up into lower abdomen area iykwim. It seemed to come down in a few months, then I got really worried when he was about 3 as it didn't seem to be there. We finally went to a specialist who said it was there but that both testicles had a very strong ligament reflex that pulled them up when he was cold, etc.

Anyway, I hope you get some answers soon. I know it can be quite worrying.

Hi
My son had an undescended testicle that could not be found on an ultrasound. They did manage to find it in surgery so brought it down. He was 2.6 at the time and to be honest after a day I dont think he gave it another thought- didn't cause him any pain or probs.

I understand if they can't find it at all they do some reconstructive stuff so no-one is any the wiser.

I would imagine they would advise keeping your DS off a bit as he is older and more likely to get into scrapes at school.

Good luck with the appt.

DS1 has had 3 ops now to bring down undescended testicles. They're still not in his scrotum. Each time, he's been fine the next day, and hasn't yet had an overnight stay.

Hope they find the elusive testicle!