A 25-year experience with standard orchidopexy in cryptorchism

We reviewed retrospectively 1466 children aged 1 to 16 years who were operated at the Clinic because of cryptorchism between 1979 and 2003. The Gross technique was used in 922 (55%) orchidopexies, the Petrivalsky/Schoemaker technique--in 603 (36%), subcutaneous fixation was performed in 109 cases (6.5%) and surgical exploration with or without excision in 42 cases (2.5%). The early results were successful in 42% of all cases with intra-abdominal testes, in 74% of cases with testes high in the inguinal canal, in 87% of cases with testes located low in the canal, and 98% with ectopic testes. Based on these results we consider surgery as the principal therapeutic modality to treat cryptorchism which should be performed no later than two years of age. We advise using surgical approaches other than the standard orchidopexy with inguinal canal exploration in cases of high abdominal testes. The results of the present study are discussed alongside the data available in the literature.