The staged orchiopexy: a critical review of the literature

During the last 20 years reports have appeared describing successful results with a 2-stage orchiopexy for patients noted to have a short testicular artery on first exploration. A critical review of these reports indicates that accurate documentation of the phenomenon of spontaneously increasing spermatic cord length following surgical manipulation does not exist. It is suggested that a scientifically accurate prospective study of the staged orchiopexy is needed.