Laparoscopic Management for Non-Palpable Testis

Abstract

Purpose: To present our experience with laparoscopic management of the non-palpable undescended testis. Patients and Methods: Between Nov. 2010 and Oct. 2012, 47 non-palpable testes in 41 patients were evaluated prospectively by laparoscopy. The age of the patients at the time of surgery varied from 1 to 9 years with a mean age of 2.85 years. Testicular viability and location were evaluated by physical examination and Doppler ultrasonography after 1 and 3 months. Results: Out of 49 testicular units, 47 (95.9%) were successfully treated by laparoscopic orchiopexy. 45 testicular units (91.8%) were treated by one-stage laparoscopic orchiopexy, 2 (4.1%) were treated by two-stage laparoscopic orchiopexy and 2 (4.1%) diagnosed as vanishing testis with detection of blind end spermatic vessels and vas deferens during laparoscopy. Physical examination and Doppler study demonstrated that 46 of 47 testes (97.9%) were viable and 45 of 47 (95.7%) were located in the lower scrotum and 2 of 47 (4.3%) in the upper scrotum at the end of follow-up. Conclusion: The laparoscopy is a reliable technique for diagnosis and treatment of the non-palpable intra-abdominal testis with high success and survival rates of the testes.