No relationship of testicular size at orchiopexy with fertility in men who previously had unilateral cryptorchidism

Abstract

Purpose: We determined whether testicular size at orchiopexy is predictive of fertility potential and whether size correlates with sperm parameters, hormone levels or testicular volume in adulthood.

Materials and methods: Testicular size obtained from the operative notes of patients who underwent unilateral orchiopexy was classified as normal, small or large for age. These data were compared with outcome data. Paternity data were included on 166 men who reported achieving or unsuccessfully attempting paternity for 12 or more months. Of the men 49 provided blood for hormone level measurement, 43 underwent semen analysis and in 29 testicular volume was determined.

Results: In the 166 men, including 98, 65 and 3 with small, normal and large testes for age at orchiopexy, respectively, there was no difference in paternity based on testicular size. Of those who achieved paternity time to conception did not differ based on size. Mean age at surgery also did not differ, nor did the percent of small versus normal testes in the age categories 0 to 2, 3 to 5, 6 to 8 and 9 to 11 years. There was no difference in men with small or normal testicular size at surgery in mean luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, testosterone or inhibin B. Sperm density, motility and morphology, and volume in adulthood of a previously undescended testis, previously descended testis or previously undescended and descended testes did not differ in these 2 groups, although the previously undescended testis was smaller than the contralateral testis.

Conclusions: In men with a history of unilateral cryptorchidism small testicular size at orchiopexy is not associated with decreased paternity (89.8%), abnormal hormone levels, a lower sperm count or decreased testicular volume in adulthood.