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Laparoscopy in the evaluation of the non-palpable undescended testes
1Department of Paediatric Surgery, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.
Aim Of Study:
To examine the role of laparoscopy in the evaluation of the non-palpable undescended testes in paediatric patients.
Method:
A review of all laparoscopies performed for the evaluation of the non-palpable undescended testes in a children's hospital over a 12-month period was conducted. Special attention was paid to the patients' age, the location of the testes at the time of laparoscopy, the subsequent surgical procedures and the complications.
Results:
Sixteen boys underwent laparoscopy to localise 20 nonpalpable testes. 12 patients had unilateral disease while 4 had bilateral disease. 15 non-palpable testes were intraabdominal, 3 had inguinal testicular remnants and 2 had 'vanished'. A contralateral inguinal hernia was incidentally found in one patient. A patient with epididymal-gonadal non-union was not apparent at laparoscopy. There were no post-laparoscopic complications in all 16 patients.
Conclusion:
Laparoscopy is safe and accurate in the evaluation of non-palpable testes in children. The accurate localisation of intraabdominal testes facilitates the development of an optimal surgical strategy.