i have a ton of anxiety over my ds's undescended testicle.

lbarrera86 · February 2011

My ds was born with a left undescended testicle. When ds was 3 weeks old, we had an appt with his urologist, who was able to feel his testicle and said that it may go down on its own between 3-6 months and on 90% of cases, it will. We had a follow up last Friday and this time, the urologist couldn't feel it anymore. He said it was either two things: either it moved up to a place where he couldn't feel it, or the blood supply could've gotten cut off, making the testicle nonfunctional and eventually "disappear".. Ds will need surgery/laporoscopy between 6-18 months and hopefully he still has his left testicle in him. If he does, they will move it down, but if he doesn't, they will end it there. My worry is that it won't be there anymore.. I know that this isn't the end of the world, but I just feel so bad for my little man. I often think about how his surgery will go, if he even has his left testicle still or not, how it will affect him during puberty, and how it'll affect his self-esteem. Anyone have a ds or know anyone who went through the same thing?? Please share your story. Thanks and sorry so long

desmerelda317 · February 2011

I am so sorry you and DS are going through this. I came into this post already and then went out but I just had to come back. Honestly, I have not been in your situation regarding an undescended testicle. But I have had a son have major surgery, so I do know how rough it is - having appointments with specialists, finding out something is wrong, knowing the surgery is necessary but fearing it, etc. My son's operation was on his skull, so it wasn't done laporosopically. But maybe that will mean the recovery for your son will be easier and faster! I wish I could offer more info or help. T&Ps are with you.

kujess1 · February 2011

Not quite the same, but my DH has a similar situation. He had an undescended testicle, and when he was a child, they did surgery and actually removed the testicle and put in an artificial one. It really doesn't seem to affect his self-esteem much at all. Also, didn't seem to affect his fertility either, as he has 2 beautiful children. GL with your DS!

lbarrera86 · February 2011

Thank you desmerelda

lbarrera86 · February 2011

kujess1:
Not quite the same, but my DH has a similar situation. He had an undescended testicle, and when he was a child, they did surgery and actually removed the testicle and put in an artificial one. It really doesn't seem to affect his self-esteem much at all. Also, didn't seem to affect his fertility either, as he has 2 beautiful children. GL with your DS!

that makes me feel a little better. Do you know if this affected your dh during puberty, like a delay in sexual development? Did it affect his height? Or affect anything that testosterone plays a role in, if that makes sense? You can pm me if u want. Thanks

lbarrera86 · February 2011

desmerelda317:
I am so sorry you and DS are going through this. I came into this post already and then went out but I just had to come back. Honestly, I have not been in your situation regarding an undescended testicle. But I have had a son have major surgery, so I do know how rough it is - having appointments with specialists, finding out something is wrong, knowing the surgery is necessary but fearing it, etc. My son's operation was on his skull, so it wasn't done laporosopically. But maybe that will mean the recovery for your son will be easier and faster! I wish I could offer more info or help. T&Ps are with you.

oh btw, I'm glad your son made it thru surgery! Operating on the skull is no joke. I thank you again for the t&p

Novem06 · February 2011

The same thing happened to my best friends son. When they went in there it had died up inside. They did insert a fake teste and said he shouldn't have an issue with puberty and things like that. Good luck I hope everything turns out ok! My DS had to have surgery for a hypospadius repair at 6mo so I know how stressful surgery is:(

desmerelda317 · February 2011

memyselfn3boys:
desmerelda317:
I am so sorry you and DS are going through this. I came into this post already and then went out but I just had to come back. Honestly, I have not been in your situation regarding an undescended testicle. But I have had a son have major surgery, so I do know how rough it is - having appointments with specialists, finding out something is wrong, knowing the surgery is necessary but fearing it, etc. My son's operation was on his skull, so it wasn't done laporosopically. But maybe that will mean the recovery for your son will be easier and faster! I wish I could offer more info or help. T&Ps are with you.
oh btw, I'm glad your son made it thru surgery! Operating on the skull is no joke. I thank you again for the t&p

Thank you His surgery was done at 8 1/2 months old. So he's over a year post-op. And he really did come through it with flying colors. These little ones bounce back so fast, it is absolutely remarkable! The nurses and doctors all said the surgery would be more difficult for me than it was for him. I didn't believe them, but they ended up being right. Your son will do great too and it sounds like some ladies on here have experience with similar situations and the prognosis looks good from their replies

Chrysallys · February 2011

It's a terribly upsetting and scary situation to be in because of all the reasons you mentioned. Plus, when we were going through it with our son, I was so worried (and still am to a point) about his future fertility, especially considering both myself and my DH are IF, and about potential cancer risks.

I will say that my son's orchiopexy went really well, much better than I could have imagined and he bounced back within an hour!

If you want to read more about our experience I wrote a blog about it. https://chrysallys.blogspot.com/2010/09/home-from-hospital.html

You can also always PM me to vent and ask questions.

pechal1 · February 2011

I have to input, I just wanted to say I am sorry you are going through this. I would have the same thoughts running through my head. Not that this makes it any easier, but god forbid it is not there, and he is uncomfortable later in life, maybe they have something prosethtic (sp?) that they can do. I hope it all works out for you and DS

lbarrera86 · February 2011

Chrysallys:
It's a terribly upsetting and scary situation to be in because of all the reasons you mentioned. Plus, when we were going through it with our son, I was so worried (and still am to a point) about his future fertility, especially considering both myself and my DH are IF, and about potential cancer risks.

I will say that my son's orchiopexy went really well, much better than I could have imagined and he bounced back within an hour!

If you want to read more about our experience I wrote a blog about it. https://chrysallys.blogspot.com/2010/09/home-from-hospital.html

You can also always PM me to vent and ask questions.

for some reason, I can't pm you on my phone..but was the urologist able to palpate or feel his testicle before his surgery? Ours couldn't feel it at all the second time so that's why I'm worried that its not there anymore. Thanks for ur feedback though and ur link

Smudges*Mom · February 2011

My son had an undescended testicle at birth. At the advice of our pediatrician, we waited to see if it would drop on it's own, though, during a physical exam, she was never able to locate or feel the undescended testicle.

My DS had his surgery at 14 months. During the procedure, they were able to locate the testicle and worked to bring it down. Unfortunately, it was not healthy, and it did not hold up, so they removed it. Per a discussion prior to the procedure, the pediatric urologist tacked down his remaining testicle so as to protect it from twisting on itself. My LO bounced back from surgery very well. He still has the two scars on either side of his belly button.

As for what the future holds for his self esteem and fertility, we can only guess. We know that having it removed was the right choice. Since discovering that he had an undescended testicle, I had a feeling the second testicle would not be viable, so, perhaps my frame of mind is different. We will approach the subject as age appropriate as needed. It is my hope that his life will not be negatively impacted. I am considering having a semen analysis done after he has reached sexual maturity. Having dealt with infertility, I want him to know in advance if there will be problems. Hopefully, it will be a moot point and all will be fine.

I'm sorry that you are going through this. To be honest, being on this side of the procedure, while nerve wracking because he is my baby, all went well and know we know what the situation is. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Chrysallys · February 2011

He was, but we didn't see the urologist until DS was almost a year. Before that his pedi would palpitate it and it seemed to move up and down slightly. Hopefully your DS' testicle was just up at that point.

lbarrera86 · February 2011

pechal1:
I have to input, I just wanted to say I am sorry you are going through this. I would have the same thoughts running through my head. Not that this makes it any easier, but god forbid it is not there, and he is uncomfortable later in life, maybe they have something prosethtic (sp?) that they can do. I hope it all works out for you and DS

They do have an artificial testicle they can put in when he's older. Thanks for ur feedback

holleysgirl · February 2011

My DH has an undescended testicle that was never operated on and at this point the doctors don't really feel a need. He does get consistent checkups. He had no issues with self esteem and has no issues with fertility. I thought it would be tough for us but we got pregnant extremley quickly. Good luck with everything!

robynlesley · February 2011

While my DS did not have an undescended testicle, he was born with a Hydrocele (fluid in his scrotum) and I was told that in 90% of the cases, the fluid is re-absorbed by 6 months. Well, my DS was in the 10% that did not an he had laparoscopic surgery at 11 months to repair the Hydrocele (basically hernia surgery).

He did very well with the surgery and after a few months, his testicle was no longer swollen.

I'm sure your DS will do fine with the surgery?though I can understand it's frightening. I don't know how it will affect his self-esteem, but I hope there are no long-term issues and that his testicle is able to be retrieved via surgery.

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i have a ton of anxiety over my ds's undescended testicle.

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