Are you worried that your son’s testicle is not where it should be? Well….you’re in the right place! In this post I’m going to teach you what this means for your son, and how someone like me can fix it for them.
The testicle develops inside the tummy cavity and usually makes it’s way down through the groin and into the scrotum by about 35 weeks of pregnancy.
If your son’s testicle is not in the scrotum by 6 months of age then he needs a procedure called an orchidopexy, because it’s not going to come down on its own at that stage.
Performing the orchidopexy by 18 months of age preserves your son’s fertility potential. It is also vital that your son can easily examine his own testis in adulthood so that he can identify any potential problems such as testicular cancer.
I perform the orchidopexy procedure under general anaesthetic and it usually takes me around 40 minutes to complete. During the procedure small openings are made in the groin and scrotum to allow me to safely bring the testicle down.
All of the stitches are dissolving and under the skin and I also use special skin glue to protect the wounds afterwards.
There are of course small risks such as bleeding and infection that can happen in any operation and are usually straightforward to sort out. The things I worry about would be damage to the sperm tube, the testicle shrinking or going back up towards the groin after the procedure. Thankfully this only occurs in about 1-2% of boys.
Following your child’s procedure, they should be able to go home the same day and be back to their normal activities within 5-7 days. I would recommend that your son avoids sitting astride things like a bicycle seat for at least two weeks following the procedure.
I like to see them back 6 month’s following the procedure to check that the testicle has survived the journey and that it has stayed down where I left it at the end of the procedure.
So, if your worried that your son’s testicle isn’t down where it should be – why not get in touch:
you can email me directly at info@mrbrianmaccormack.com
or simply call 028 9066 7878 to book an appointment
Until next time, take care of yourself and your family. Best wishes.
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