[Historical development of the surgical treatment of the undescended testicle]

An undescended testicle can be found in about 3-4% of all newborns and in 21-23% of all premature infants. In most of the young patients, the testicle will descend spontaneously during the first year of life. Thus, at the end of the second year of life, an undescended position of the testis will remain in 1-2% of all children. Since the first successful surgical treatment of the undescended testicle by Max Schüller 120 years ago in Munich, many various surgical procedures have been described. This paper gives an overview starting with the historical development of the operative treatment of the undescended testicle and leading up to the modern techniques used today.