Staged laparoscopic traction orchiopexy for intra-abdominal testis: Is it always feasible?

Laparoscopic orchiopexy for intra-abdominal testis is a well-known and commonly practiced technique. The traction technique is based on elongation of the testicular vessels without cutting them, in contrast with the two-stage Fowler-Stephens technique in which the testicular vessels are divided. The current study evaluated the feasibility of the traction technique according to the type of intra-abdominal testis.

The study included 20 boys with 22 intra-abdominal testes and who underwent staged laparoscopic traction orchiopexy between October 2013 and October 2015. Eighteen testes were proximal to the internal ring by <2 cm (type III), while the remaining four were high and away from the internal ring by >2 cm (type IVa). The patients' ages ranged between 6 months and 5 years (mean 2.2 years; median 2 years). Patients were followed up for 1 year for testicular atrophy and satisfactory scrotal site relocation.

This study did not detect any cases of testicular atrophy among the participants (0/22), while failure to achieve satisfactory scrotal site was found in two out of the four cases with type IVa intra-abdominal testes.

Traction techniques for elongating the testicular vessels were employed years ago, but this was revisited by Shehata in 2008. It has the advantage of preserving the main testicular blood supply, which can be reflected by the decreasing rate of testicular atrophy when compared with the Fowler-Stephens orchiopexy. The results of the traction technique may be less satisfactory regarding the testicular location for higher types of intra-abdominal testes (type IVa).

Staged laparoscopic traction orchiopexy was a feasible technique for intra-abdominal testes (within 2 cm of the internal ring), but the results were less satisfactory when applied for higher intra-abdominal testes (type IVa).