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Endocrine Surgery in Children pp 281–292Cite as

Surgical Considerations of Testicular Maldescent

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Abstract

The scrotum is a specialised, low-temperature environment which allows optimal postnatal development of the gonocytes and postpubertal spermatogenesis. The temperature of the scrotum is 33 °C, which means that intraabdominal testes are 4 °C away from optimal physiology and intracellular functioning, which is the likely reason for secondary dysplasia. Temperature-dependent dysgenesis is proposed to cause progressive loss of the spermatogonia, leading to subsequent poor sperm counts, while any residual gonocytes might eventually mutate into a seminoma. Successful surgical placement of the testis into the scrotum is dependent not only on the assumption that the damage is secondary rather than a primary disorder of the testis, but also that early intervention can prevent and/or reverse this. Additionally orchidopexy aims to overcome the cosmetic deformity.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    John Hutson

  2. Department of Urology, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia

    John Hutson

  3. Douglas Stephens Surgical Research Laboratory, Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, 50 Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia

    John Hutson

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  1. John Hutson
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Correspondence to John Hutson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Daniel J. Ledbetter

  2. Academic Pediatric Surgery Unit, Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom

    Paul R.V. Johnson

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Hutson, J. (2018). Surgical Considerations of Testicular Maldescent. In: Ledbetter, D., Johnson, P. (eds) Endocrine Surgery in Children. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-54256-9_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-54256-9_20

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-54254-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-54256-9

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