Undescended testicle in 1-year-old ...help!

hibabyhawaii · June 2017

My 1-year-old just had his consult with a surgeon regarding his undescended testicle. Unfortunately, the testicle cannot be palpated so they will have to go in laparoscopically first to find it and then bring it down. There is no question about the surgery - he needs it to prevent other issues, such as cancer and infertility.

My problem is picking a surgeon. The one we saw today was very nice and had good bedside manner. He explained everything and answered our questions. Surgery would be in 3 weeks, which is great since they recommend the surgery before 12 months of age (and he will be 13 months then). However, once we left I decided to look the doctor up and saw that he just finished his fellowship last year. He graduated from medical school in 2009 - so it isn't like he is still a resident or anything but he doesn't have a TON of experience.

I called the office to ask about scheduling with another doctor who was more experienced (it is an office with 4 doctors who do the surgeries). The lady talked to the Chief of Staff who said that he will be on the floor during the surgery and can make sure that he is assisting with my son's surgery if that helped me feel better. The other option would be to schedule with a different doctor (who has more experience) BUT the surgery wouldn't be until August, which isn't out of the question but is definitely later than I wanted as it is "better earlier than later."

So - with that said - what would you do? Go with the first, less experienced doctor who will have a very experienced doctor with him or wait extra time and go with the other doctor?

None of my kiddos have ever had surgery so it is a lot to take in...i'm a nervous wreck. Thanks.

meggyme · June 2017

hibabyhawaii said:

My 1-year-old just had his consult with a surgeon regarding his undescended testicle. Unfortunately, the testicle cannot be palpated so they will have to go in laparoscopically first to find it and then bring it down. There is no question about the surgery - he needs it to prevent other issues, such as cancer and infertility.
My problem is picking a surgeon. The one we saw today was very nice and had good bedside manner. He explained everything and answered our questions. Surgery would be in 3 weeks, which is great since they recommend the surgery before 12 months of age (and he will be 13 months then). However, once we left I decided to look the doctor up and saw that he just finished his fellowship last year. He graduated from medical school in 2009 - so it isn't like he is still a resident or anything but he doesn't have a TON of experience.
I called the office to ask about scheduling with another doctor who was more experienced (it is an office with 4 doctors who do the surgeries). The lady talked to the Chief of Staff who said that he will be on the floor during the surgery and can make sure that he is assisting with my son's surgery if that helped me feel better. The other option would be to schedule with a different doctor (who has more experience) BUT the surgery wouldn't be until August, which isn't out of the question but is definitely later than I wanted as it is "better earlier than later."
So - with that said - what would you do? Go with the first, less experienced doctor who will have a very experienced doctor with him or wait extra time and go with the other doctor?
None of my kiddos have ever had surgery so it is a lot to take in...i'm a nervous wreck. Thanks.

Can you meet with both surgeons and ask more questions that might make you feel at ease? Like has he done this surgery before, is it a straightforward procedure, what are the complications that could arise, etc? If it's a pretty simple procedure and a more experienced surgeon would be on hand in case of complications and the type of complications were low risk, I'd go with the less experienced. But if it will keep you up, then wait the extra time and go with the other surgeon.

WeddingNotes13 · June 2017

That is a tough situation. I agre the with PP. A side note, my husband had an undescended testicle that, for some reason, was not addressed until he was five years old. I would think, if you have much concern, a slight delay in the surgery would not be a big deal.

Undescended testicle in 1-year-old ...help!

Re: Undescended testicle in 1-year-old ...help!

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