Male cryptorchidism can be judged by medical history, symptoms and signs such as scrotal emptiness, ultrasonography and other auxiliary examinations.
1. Medical history: the incidence of cryptorchidism is 1%~4.6% in full-term male infants at the age of 1 year, the incidence of cryptorchidism in preterm infants has increased significantly, and the incidence of cryptorchidism in very low birth weight infants weighing less than 1,500g at the time of birth is as high as 60%~70%.
2. Symptoms and signs: Physical examination of the patient shows that the scrotum on the affected side can be empty, and if it is unilateral cryptorchid testis, asymmetry of the scrotum on both sides can occur.
During the examination, the child is lying down, and the testicle is pushed into the scrotum along the inguinal canal from the mouth of the internal ring to check the ectopic area of testicular descent to exclude ectopic testicle. If the testicle can be pushed into the scrotum but returns to the inguinal region after letting go, it is called sliding testicle and belongs to the category of cryptorchidism.
2. Auxiliary examination
(1) Hormone: when diagnosing bilateral anorchidism, the male karyotype must be determined, endocrinological evaluation is necessary to help determine whether unilateral or bilateral testes exist, and hormone stimulation test is aimed at avoiding unnecessary surgery.
(2) Imaging examination: the examination is mainly for patients with inaccessible cryptorchid testes. Ultrasound can be used as a routine examination because it is non-invasive, inexpensive and simple, but ultrasound alone cannot be relied upon to diagnose cryptorchid testes and decide on surgical procedures, and CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations are of little value in the diagnosis of cryptorchid testes.
Cryptorchidism can cause infertility and testicular cancer. If you feel uncomfortable, please seek medical advice if you have cryptorchidism.