Children have only one testicle

Normal babies have two testicles and they are symmetrically distributed. If a baby only has one testicle, it must be a reproductive system disease. As a parent, you must pay attention to this, because unilateral testicles can easily lead to infertility in adulthood. This is also a disease. If it is not treated in time, it can easily lead to cancer. Therefore, the earlier it is discovered, the earlier it should be treated.

Because one testicle of patients with unilateral cryptorchidism resides in the scrotum, it was previously believed that the spermatogenic function of this descended testicle was normal and would not affect fertility. However, recent studies have challenged this traditional understanding, suggesting that patients with unilateral cryptorchidism also need timely treatment for two reasons: first, patients with unilateral cryptorchidism often have reduced fertility and are infertile; second, the likelihood of cancer in the undescended testicles of patients with cryptorchidism is about 50 times higher than the chance of cancer in normally descended testicles, and the chance of cryptorchidism patients developing inguinal scars is also much higher than that of normal people. Therefore, whether from the perspective of fertility or health, whether it is bilateral cryptorchidism or unilateral cryptorchidism, timely treatment is required.

It refers to the failure of the testicles to descend from the retroperitoneum of the waist to the scrotum according to the normal development process. The incidence of cryptorchidism gradually decreases during growth and development. The incidence in premature infants is about 30%, in newborns is 4%, in 1 year old is 0.66%, and in adults is 0.3%, indicating that the descent of the testicles is a gradual process and the testicles may continue to descend after birth.

But generally after 6 months, the chance of further decline is significantly reduced.

Treatment of cryptorchidism includes conservative treatment, that is, drug treatment, and surgical treatment. Drug treatment can be done with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) or luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH). The dosage, usage and course of treatment must be controlled by a specialist, and the efficacy and side effects must be closely monitored. }

The best time to treat cryptorchidism is generally considered to be within 2 years of age. In children under 1 year old, there is still a possibility that the testicles will naturally descend into the scrotum, and it is also very difficult to provide anesthesia during surgery at this age. The chance of a hidden testicle relapsing naturally after the age of 2 is almost zero. If cryptorchidism is treated at a child older than 2 years old, testicular function will be seriously affected by adverse factors, which will be detrimental to the subsequent function.

Treatment of cryptorchidism includes conservative treatment, that is, drug treatment, and surgical treatment. Drug treatment can be done with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) or luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH). The dosage, usage and course of treatment must be controlled by a specialist, and the efficacy and side effects must be closely monitored.

Surgical treatment of cryptorchidism is a commonly used method because it is effective and can completely solve the problem. However, the method of surgical treatment depends on the location of each patient's hidden testis and the local anatomical tissue structure. Therefore, some patients can pull the cryptorchidism into the scrotum in one operation, while some patients need stage I and stage II operations to successfully put it in place. There are also a few patients who cannot pull the cryptorchidism into the scrotum and have to undergo autologous testicular transplantation. In some very elderly patients, it is discovered during surgery that the cryptorchidism has degenerated or become malignant and must be removed. This depends on the specific circumstances of each cryptorchidism patient.

In short, cryptorchidism is a common and frequently occurring disease in men with congenital genital abnormalities. I hope parents will pay enough attention to this so as not to miss the best treatment period and regret it for the rest of their lives.