Cryptorchidism is a developmental disorder in which one or both testicles are misplaced. Andrey Dmitriev, a urologist at the Remedi Institute of Reproductive Medicine, tells socialbites.ca about this during fetal development, they do not descend into the scrotum, and in some cases “leave” in the thigh area.
“There are patients whose testicles have descended to the thigh region. Men with undescended testicles are 10 times more likely to have malignant tumors. Men who had undescended testicles as a child have a slightly higher risk of infertility – 4%. Dmitriev said the risk increases by 30 percent if both testicles are undescended.
According to him, modern reproductive technologies allow such patients to have children in most cases. In addition, it is important to perform timely surgery in childhood.
“This is the most common malformation of the male reproductive system: Cryptorchidism occurs in 3% of full-term boys and 30% of preterm boys. In 80% of cases, the testis descends on its own into the scrotum during the first year of a child’s life. -If it does not happen in 6 months, doctors recommend orchiopexy, an operation that allows you to properly position the testicles in the scrotum, ”the urologist explained.
Several risk factors for cryptorchidism have been identified: prematurity and low birth weight, maternal exposure to certain chemicals, alcohol abuse during pregnancy, family history of cryptorchidism, and preeclampsia (high blood pressure and significant amounts of protein in the urine) in the mother during pregnancy.