Management of cryptorchidism at University Hospital, Brazzaville

Goal: To contribute to improving the management of cryptorchidism in hospital. Patients and methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study conducted in pediatric surgical department and urology-andrology department of the university hospital center, Brazzaville, for patients operated for cryptorchidism from January 1st, 2000 to December 31st, 2009. The studied parameters were: frequency, age at diagnosis and treatment, information from the physical examination, surgical data and evolution. Results: Of 8100 patients in the two services, 163 (2.7%) were for cryptorchidism, 2.6% in patients between 1 to 16 and 0.8% in patients between 19 to 36 years. The mean age was 9.6 years ranging from 1 to 36 years. The circumstances of discovery were: the emptiness of the purse (77.3%), strangulated inguinal hernia (13.5%), strangulated umbilical hernia (3.1%), infertility (3.1%), abdominal pain (1.8%) and hypospadias (1.2%). The cryptorchidism was left unilateral (82 cases), right (70 cases) and bilateral in 11 cases. At surgical exploration, the testis was intra-abdominal (26.5%), deep inguinal (62%), superficial inguinal (11.5%). The testes were of normal appearance during surgery in 129 cases, atrophic in nine cases and unspecified in 25 cases. The results of treatment after one-time orchidopexy were good in 139 cases (92.6) and poor in two cases (1.3%); for orchidopexy in two stages, the results were good in one and poor in three cases. Conclusion: Cryptorchidism is still late diagnosed and treated in our hospital. A therapeutic management between the ages of 1 and 2 year(s) is required to improve the functional prognosis.