diagnosis guide
If you’ve just received a medical diagnosis, or you’re concerned that something in your present or past health history might be jeopardizing your fertility, check here for quick info on common medical conditions and how they can affect conception and pregnancy.
Directory Content
Undescended Testicle
What It Is
A testicle that hasn’t moved into its proper position in the scrotum prior to birth.
Who Gets It
About 2 to 5 percent of baby boys are born with an undescended testicle. It is most common in premature births.
Symptoms
The testicle cannot be seen or felt where it would normally be in the scrotum.
How It's Diagnosed/Detected
A “missing” testicle is typically detected when a baby is examined shortly after birth.
How It Affects Fertility (And Pregnancy)
If the testicle hasn't moved into the scrotum by the time a baby is four months old, the problem probably won't correct itself, and surgery is necessary to relocate the testicle into its proper place. When the defect is corrected within a year or so of birth, fertility usually is not impaired. If surgery has been delayed too long, a man may never be able to produce sperm.
Treatment
Thanks to recent advances in microsurgery, doctors often can extract sperm from the testicles of men who are infertile because of an undescended testicle.
Fertility Prognosis
With microsurgery, doctors can find sperm in 60 percent of men with zero sperm counts and a history of undescended testicle. Through in vitro fertilization or ICSI, a procedure in which a single sperm is directly injected into an egg, 40 percent of these men can help their partners achieve a pregnancy.
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