Introducing a new scrotal orchiopexy technique: The fat anchor orchiopexy

Cryptorchidism is the most common congenital anomaly of the male genital tract. Cryptorchidism is associated with potentially serious consequences including reduced fertility, increases risk of cancer, susceptibility to torsion and traumatic injury, as well as future psychological problems related to an abnormal scrotal appearance. The mainstay of orchiopexy is to achieve an adequate tension-free and permanent scrotal fixation of the testis; one that prevents recurrent ascent. A number of suggestions have been made regarding keeping the testis in the scrotal position once it was brought down in the scrotum without tension. Several techniques for testicular fixation have been described to date; however, the optimal method remains controversial. We herein introduce a novel scrotal orchidopexy technique. This innovative fixation technique utilizes the sub-scrotal fat as a permanent anchor for fixing the low-lying cryptorchid testicle in the scrotum through a trans-scrotal incision. Therefore, the procedure was named "the fat anchor orchiopexy". We believe our method will give better options for scrotal fixation especially in cases of low-lying cryptorchid testes. This article provides a detailed description of this new fixation technique.