Is pediatric cryptorchidism surgery minimally invasive?

The symptoms of cryptorchidism in children are common. Especially in modern society, the environment in which people live has deteriorated, and the pressure people are under has increased, which has led to a significant increase in the proportion of children with the disease. Cryptorchidism in children will have a very adverse effect on the future, causing the child's fertility to be seriously affected. Surgery is the most effective way to solve cryptorchidism. Let's take a look at whether cryptorchidism surgery in children is minimally invasive?

Causes of cryptorchidism:

1. The cause of cryptorchidism is still unclear.

2. 10% of testicular descent occurs at 24 weeks of pregnancy, 50% at 27 weeks, 75% at 28 weeks, and 80% of testicular descent occurs between 34 weeks of pregnancy and birth.

3. 3% of full-term male babies may have cryptorchidism, and about 70% to 77% of the cryptorchidism will usually descend spontaneously into the scrotum within 3 months after birth.

4. Birth weight is the primary determinant of cryptorchidism in newborns and one-year-old infants, which is not affected by the length of pregnancy.

5. 80% of cryptorchidism can be palpated, and 20% cannot be palpated. Ectopic undescended testicles are most commonly located in the superficial inguinal fossa.

6. Children with retractile testicles must be followed up every year until puberty or until the testicles no longer retract. The pathological appearance of the germ cells of the sliding testis is abnormal and resembles that of a primary undescended testis.

7. Up to 90% of patients with cryptorchidism have epididymal abnormalities.

There is still a chance that the testicles may descend before six months, and the testicles may be damaged due to the high temperature afterwards, so it is best to have the surgery after six months, but don't wait too long to avoid damaging fertility. The risk of surgery for children is not increased due to their young age, but it is best to find a specialist physician. There is a best time to treat cryptorchidism. If you miss the opportunity and wait until the baby grows up before having surgery, it will be counterproductive.

Although the operation of cryptorchidism fixation is minor, it requires high technical skills from the doctor. The surgeon should be able to design or change the surgical method during surgery according to the different anatomical abnormalities of cryptorchidism, so as to fix the cryptorchidism into the scrotum without damaging the blood supply to the testicles to prevent testicular atrophy in the future. For cryptorchids that cannot be palpated, one should not blindly rely on surgical exploration, and one should not assume that the testicles are absent just because no testicles can be found during exploration. In the case of cryptorchids that cannot be palpated, only about 1/4 of the cases actually indicate that there are no testicles. Therefore, B-ultrasound and CT should be used before surgery to determine the presence of testicles and the location of hidden testicles and to design a surgical plan.