[Management Of Undescended Testis In Children In Yaounde. A Report On 71 Cases].

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this work was to describe the epidemiological, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of undescended testicle in the of Pediatric Surgery service of the Yaoundé gyneco-obstetric and pediatric hospital.

METHOD: Our study was retrospective, descriptive and analytical from June 2008 to December 2016; a period of 8 years and 6 months. Included in this study were records of pediatric patients aged 0 - 15 years who had been managed for an undescended testis in the Pediatric Surgery service of the Yaoundé gyneco-obstetric and pediatric hospital and followed up at our outpatient clinic. Data recorded included age, term of pregnancy at birth, time to presentation, presenting complaint, symptoms, location of the testis, surgical approach and procedure, complications and follow up. Open orchidopexy according to Surraco was the standard operation carried out for all our patients, a scrotal doppler ultrasound was systematic 30 days after the surgery and the child was scheduled for follow-up visits at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months postoperatively.

RESULTS

Seventy-one patients were managed during the study period, giving a hospital frequency of 10 cases per annum. The average age of our patients was 5.8 years [1 day and 15 years]. The mean time to consultation was 4.5 years [1 day and 15 years]. Most patients consulted for absence of the testis (n = 62). All patients were full term births. Clinically, the undescended testis was categorized as: cryptorchidism (n = 45), ectopia testis (n = 2), intra-abdominal testis (n = 24), retractile testis (n = 7), vanishing testis (n = 4). The position of the undescended testis was: inguinal (n = 64), pelvic (n = 2) and abdominal (n = 5). Single stage open orchidopexy according to Surraco using an incision in the lower inguinal crease was performed in 66 cases (93%). Laparoscopy was used in 7% of cases for location of non-palpable testis. With a mean follow-up of 3 months, testicular atrophy was found in 5.6% of cases in our series.