[Perineal ectopic testis]

The case of a 24-year-old patient is presented who was erroneously presumed to have unilateral testicular aplasia following inguinal exploration in early childhood. At the age of 24 years he underwent surgery for a soft perineal mass, which was found to be perineal testicular ectopia associated with a congenital hernia. Histological examination of the excised testicle revealed atrophy of the germinal epithelium. A survey of the literature yielded approximately 175 more cases of perineal testicular ectopia. This is the most frequent from of testicular ectopia with a relative incidence of less than 1% of all cases of undescended testes. Ectopic testes seem only to differ from undescended testes in terms of topography. Little difference can be observed in terms of histology or the incidence of concomitant hernias.