Alterations in testicular positioning after normal descent: acquired cryptorchidism

Acquired cryptorchidism or acquired undescended testis (UDT) is defined as the displacement of a testicle outside the scrotal sac after normal descent has been verified. There are still no clear guidelines on its management.

To analyze patients who underwent surgery for UDT in our setting to determine the prevalence of acquired cryptorchidism and to analyze the demographic and clinical characteristics of the population of children diagnosed with both acquired and congenital cryptorchidism, the age of presentation of both entities and the percentage of bilateral involvement.

This was a retrospective descriptive study using data from the clinical history of patients who underwent surgery for cryptorchidism between 2011 and 2022. The type of cryptorchidism, acquired or congenital, was recorded. Demographic and clinical data were collected.

A total of 367 patients and 442 testicular units were included in the study (75 patients had bilateral involvement). In 54.75% (95% CI: 50.09%-59.40%) of the cases analyzed, cryptorchidism was acquired, and the mean age at the time of surgery was 7.39 years (SD 2.95). Twenty percent (95% CI: 16.29%-24.58%) of the patients presented with bilateral cryptorchidism and 64% (95% CI: 52.88%-75.11%) out of them were acquired on both sides. The diagnosis was metachronous in 42.6% (95% CI: 31.21%-54.12%) of bilateral cryptorchidism cases.

Acquired cryptorchidism accounts for more than half of cryptorchidism cases requiring surgery in our setting, with a clearly different age of presentation than that for congenital cryptorchidism. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the presence of the testes in the scrotal sac until adolescence. It is also important to monitor patients with a history of cryptorchidism, not only for the management of the operated testicle but also for the early identification of patients who will develop metachronous contralateral cryptorchidism.