Consequences of bilateral cryptorchidism in adults

Abstract

Bilateral cryptorchidism treatment results are often shadowed by the majority of unilateral cases. We report the long-term follow-up results of boys treated for bilateral cryptorchidism during childhood. Patients treated in two main paediatric surgery centres were selected from medical registries and invited for a clinical examination including scrotal ultrasound, salivary testosterone measurement and a semen sample. Thirty-six men (38.3%) replied to the written invitation, and 21 agreed to be examined. The mean age at orchidopexy was 74 months (range 24-138). Sperm count was 0.42 × 10⁶ (SD ± 0.64 × 10⁶ ) ml^-1 . The correlation between total testicular volume and total sperm count was statistically significant (r = 0.481; P = 0.032). These results show that surgical treatment of bilateral cryptorchidism after the age of 2 years does not prevent infertility. Sperm count and endocrine evaluation advocated after the treatment of bilateral cryptorchidism in all adult patients.

Keywords: Cryptorchidism; fertility; orchidopexy; semen analysis.