What to do about cryptorchidism in children

  Children with cryptorchidism often come to the clinic because their parents find a hollow scrotum with no testicles inside.  The dangers of cryptorchidism are enormous. It has been found that the testicles of children with cryptorchidism have obvious pathological changes from the age of 2, which worsen after the age of 5. Cryptorchidism is in a relatively high temperature environment, which is very unfavorable to testicular development and sperm production after puberty, and can cause significant atrophy of the testicles, hinder the occurrence of sperm, and result in little or no sperm, thus affecting the fertility of the affected children in adulthood. It also has a high chance of cancer and endangers the life of the patient. Since bilateral cryptorchidism still has the possibility of natural descent within 12 months, it is possible to wait; those whose testicles still have not descended after 12 months should seek the help of a specialist. For children with bilateral low cryptorchidism, endocrine treatment can be applied systematically for 1 to 2 courses, and some of them can obtain testicular descent; if the effect of endocrine treatment is unsatisfactory, children should undergo bilateral testicular traction fixation within 2 years of age to solve the problem of cryptorchidism through surgery, and as long as the surgery is successful, there is a hope of restoring fertility. Unilateral cryptorchidism often has low efficiency of endocrine treatment, so surgery can be considered directly. after 2 years old, irreversible damage of cryptorchidism starts to occur, so it is very important to choose the time of cryptorchidism surgery. Treatment of cryptorchidism is not only for the consideration of future fertility, but cryptorchidism also has the chance of inguinal hernia, injury, cancer, and torsion, which can have a significant psychological impact on the male spirit.  Traditional open surgery for cryptorchidism, especially for high cryptorchidism, requires inguinal and abdominal exploration, which causes great damage, long hospital stay and more complications. Our hospital carries out pediatric laparoscopic treatment for high cryptorchidism, which completely loosens the spermatic cord under minimally invasive direct vision, with good results, less bleeding, less damage, almost no scars, and fewer complications such as testicular atrophy and retraction after surgery.