My son is born with undescended testicles. Is there any cause for worry ?
A. The testicles in the males and the ovaries in the females babies develop in the foetal abdomen from the same embroynic tissue. By the 8th month of gestation, the testicles descend to the scrotum sac at the base of penis. But in 3-4% of the full term babies and 1/3 of the pre-term babies, the testicles do not descend and the result is undescended testicles. The diagnosis of undescended testicles is made only when one or both the testicles are not observed in the scrotum, even when the body is in a warm bath. An undescended testicle causes no pain or any difficulty in urination. Normally undescended testicles descend in the scrotum on its own by the age of 1 year. In rare cases, 3-4 boys out of a 1000 may persist to have the testicles , and then surgery is recommended which is successful.
