Re-orchiopexy: advantages and disadvantages

Re-orchiopexy was performed in 33 boys (42 testes) in order to place an undescended testis in the scrotum after failure of the initial operation. Success was achieved in 80.9%. Seven of the 10 testes, reported to have short spermatic vessels at the first surgery, had no elongation of the vessels and only 1 of these resulted in a high scrotal location of the testis. It appears that most orchiopexy failures are the result of technical failures of the initial procedure. Standard orchiopexy with extensive mobilization of the spermatic vessels and testis can successfully correct most of the undescended testes. However, the preferred management for the intra-abdominal testis with short vessels may be transection of the spermatic vessels rather than a planned two-stage technique.