Treatment of Undescended Testes

• The tesis may be retained extraperitoneally in the abdominal cavity, or its descent may be arrested in the inguinal canal, or there may be maldescent into the perineal, pubic, or femoral region. The purposes of surgical intervention are to preserve fertility, promote normal development, prevent injury, decrease danger of malignancy, lessen incidence of torsion of the spermatic cord, lessen incidence of strangulation of the associated hernia, and achieve a normal appearance. The procedure must preserve nerves, blood vessels, ductus deferens, and epididymis, must repair any existing hernia, and must prepare an adequate scrotal pocket. Incision and dissection must be such as to give adequate length of spermatic cord. The author recommends that a unilateral undescended testis, without evidence of large hernia, should be treated surgically when the boy is 4 to 6 years of age.