The Undescended Testes in Children: a Prospective Epidemiological Study

Background: The management of undescended testes remains a topical issue. This study was aimed at determinining the presentation and outcome of children presenting with undescended testes at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study that included all male children aged 1-15 years with undescended testes who were treated by the paediatric surgery unit in LUTH from January 2010 to December 2011
Results: A total of 56 boys with 73 undesecended testes were surgically treated during the study period. The median age at operation was 3.0 years (range: 1 to 11years). Seventeen (30.4%) boys had bilateral undescended testes while 39 (69.6%) boys had unilateral undescended testes . Associated anomalies were present in 6 (10.7%) boys- hypospadias in 5 (8.9%) boys and vertebral anomaly in 1 (1.8%) boy.. Open orchidopexy was performed in 59 (80.8%) cases while staged orchidopexy was done in 11 (15.1%) cases. There were 4 (5.4%) post operative complications -3 cases of postoperative hematoma and 1 case of wound dehiscence.
Conclusion: Children with undescended testes present late in Lagos. About a third of patients with undesended testes in our centre have bilateral undescended testes while about 10% have associated congenital anomalies.