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Testicular growth from birth to two years of age, and the effect of orchidopexy at age nine months: A randomized, controlled study
Author(s) -
Kollin Claude,
Hesser Ulf,
Martin Ritzén E,
Karpe Bengt
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2006.tb02233.x
Subject(s) - medicine , testicular volume , randomized controlled trial , ultrasonography , surgery , gynecology , urology , hormone , secondary sex characteristic
Aim: To study whether surgical treatment at age 9 mo in boys with congenital unilaterally palpable undescended testes (cryptorchidism) is followed by improved growth of the previously retained testes compared to non‐treatment. Methods: At the age of 6 mo, 70 boys were randomized to surgical treatment at 9 mo and 79 boys to treatment at 3 y of age. The boys were then followed at 12 and 24 mo. Ultrasonography was used to determine testicular volume. Results: After orchidopexy, the previously retained testes resumed growth and were significantly larger than the non‐operated testes at 2 y (0.49 ml vs 0.36 ml, p <0.001). Testicular growth after orchidopexy was also demonstrated by a higher mean ratio between the previously retained and the scrotal testes of the individual boys at 2 y: 0.84 for the surgically treated group, compared to 0.63 for the untreated group ( p <0.001). Conclusion: Surgery at 9 mo has a beneficial effect on the growth of previously undescended testes.