Undescended Testis, (Cryptorchidism) A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

Undescended Testis or Cryptorchidism is the medical disorder where there is incomplete or improper descent of one or both testes through the tunnel which leads the spermatic duct from the abdomen to the testis.
Undescended testis happens when one or both testes did not enter the scrotum before birth
Causes of Undescended Testis
1. Normally the testes in the fetus are in the abdomen and make their way to the inguinal canal by the 23rd week of pregnancy and enter the scrotum by the 39th week of pregnancy.
Most of the time, a boy’s testicles descend by the time he is 9 months old.
Undescended testicles or Cryptorchidism are fairly common in infants who are born early.
The problem happens less frequently in full-term babies.
Some infants have retractile testes and the doctor may not be able find the testes.
In this case, the testis is normal but has been pulled back out of the scrotum by a muscle reflex.
This is able to happen because the testes are still of small size prior to puberty.
The testicles will descend normally at puberty and surgery is not required.
Testes that do not normally go down into the scrotum are considered abnormal.
An undescended testis tends to form cancer, even if it enters into the scrotum with surgery.
Cancer is also more likely in the other testis.
Operation to bring the testis inside the scrotum can improve sperm production and increase the chances of good fertility.
It also allows the doctor to do an exam for the early detection of cancer.
In other cases, no testis may be found, even with the surgery.
This may be because of a problem that occurred while the baby was still developing before birth.
This is able to occur because the testicles are still small before puberty.
The testicles will descend normally at puberty and surgical intervention is not required.
Testes that do not normally enter the scrotum are regarded as not normal.
Getting the testis into the scrotum can improve sperm production and raise the possibilities of higher fertilization.
It also permits the doctor to do an exam for the early detection of cancer.
In other patients, no testis may be detected even with surgical intervention.
This may be due to a problem that occurred while the baby was still developing before birth.
2. Sometimes one or rarely both testes fail to enter the scrotum before birth.
They may remain in the abdomen or may be not fully descended to the scrotum at birth.
3. The undescended testes can either be normal or dysplastic (cells may turn abnormal)
4. Intra-abdominal testes may be unable to produce sperm and also susceptible to malignant change.
5. Testis situated outside the usual course of descent is termed ectopic.
Diagnosis of Undescended Testis
All male babies at birth are examined at birth to determine whether their testes have descended into the scrotum normally.
Most of the time there are no symptoms other than the absence of the testicle in the scrotum.
This is called an empty scrotum.
The doctor may or may not be able to feel the undescended testicle in the abdominal lining above the scrotum.
Imaging studies including an ultrasound or CT scan may be done.
Treatment of Undescended Testis
In most cases, the testicle will descend without treatment during the child’s first year.
If this does not occur, treatment may include:
1. Hormone injections (B-HCG or testosterone) to try to bring the testicle into the scrotum
2. Surgery (orchiopexy) to bring the testicle into the scrotum
This is the main treatment.
Having surgery early may prevent injury to the testes that can produce infertility.
An undescended testicle that is found later in life may need to be removed because the testis tends to function poorly and could pose a risk for cancer.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Undescended Testis
Chapter 2 Cause
Chapt

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Aug 8, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370332335

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Undescended Testis,

(Cryptorchidism)

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2015 Smashwords Edition

Published By Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes the Undescended Testis is and Their Treatments and Related Diseases or in vernacular terms

(What You Need to treat Undescended Testis)

This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Condition) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://ken-med.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 600 amazon kindle books and some into Smashwords.com eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical conditions.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring you the latest information about a condition or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Undescended Testis

What is Undescended Testis?

Undescended Testis or Cryptorchidism is the medical disorder where there is incomplete or improper descent of one or both testes through the tunnel which leads the spermatic duct from the abdomen to the testis.

Undescended testis happens when one or both testes did not enter the scrotum before birth

What are the causes of Undescended Testis?

1. Normally the testes in the fetus are in the abdomen and make their way to the inguinal canal by the 23rd week of pregnancy and enter the scrotum by the 39th week of pregnancy.

Most of the time, a boy’s testicles descend by the time he is 9 months old.

Undescended testicles or Cryptorchidism are fairly common in infants who are born early.

The problem happens less frequently in full-term babies.

Some infants have retractile testes and the doctor may not be able find the testes.

In this case, the testis is normal but has been pulled back out of the scrotum by a muscle reflex.

This is able