It is 2006 but the ball has not dropped!
Genuine | March 8
My 7 month old son recently underwent his 6 month checkup (stupid HMO’s). We had all of the standard statements from the doctor and answered all of the familiar questions. By the time you have the fourth child, you really come to understand the term “Dr. Mom”. As parents, you have pretty much seen or heard it all from a pediatric point of view. Just when you think you are out of the woods for things that a child goes through, you get a brand new medical crisis. Well perhaps not a crisis, unless of course you are a Dad.
Come to find out, my son’s right testicle has not dropped and in spite of the doctor poking and prodding, she could not get the ball to drop. I’m sure that sentence will produce some weird Google searches. After having gone through two boys previous without any kind of testicle malfunction I was stumped to understand the problem. I have to admit, my first two sons were pretty well endowed in the area, but son number 3 seemed to be a late bloomer. *insert crude bad taste joke here*
Has anyone else dealt with this before? The doc said we should keep our eye on it. What happens if it doesn’t show up to the party? Should I make him jump up and down? I mean that to me is an important piece in the whole puzzle. Do they make prosthetics for that? I mean if he says “I’d give my left nut to…” He pretty much has given up the farm at that point.
They actually check for that at 6 months?? I just had my son’s 6 month appointment, and other than doing a quick check by peeking down his diaper to make sure everything’s still there, the doctor didn’t even examine his equipment.
This is way too early to worry about something like this. Now that it’s in his medical chart, the doctor will (hopefully) remember to check each time, and you can take your cues from him. If the kid hits puberty and this is still an issue, then I’d worry. In the meantime, he’s a 7 month old! He still has to learn to walk!
My brother had to have surgery when he was eight to bring down his other testicle. The age of eight is very late to have such a surgery. He is the father of two girls, but at the age of 27 he had the same testicle removed because of a benign tumors. Per the doctor he and his wife can have more children and in all likely hood he only had one good testicle his whole adult life anyway. (Many jokes have been inserted here)
We dealt with this with my second son. His testicle was acting as if it were on a bungee cord - you could put it in place, but it would just pop back out.
Our pediatric urologist said to “tack it down” - lovely terminology, no? - after he was a year old, if it was still undescended. It’s outpatient surgery. I highly recommend having a specialist - we didn’t want anyone without lots of experience handling this!
Risks of not bringing it down - increased risk of infertility, and increased risk of cancer. We opted for the surgery, performed at age 16 months. All taken care of, though we tell him that it was done when he’s old enough to care - just so he knows for medical reasons.
6 months is still early days. It could fix itself, especially if it’s where someone can feel it!
My best friend had the same problem, he’s now a proud father, stil with just one testicle (he also got more laid than anyone I’ve ever known when we were at that age) so not to worry too much.
The Boy (now 3 y/o) was diagnosed with a “retractable testicle”… it descended but occasionally gets sucked back up in there for whatever reason. At his 3 yr check up, it had retracted and Doc was mildly alarmed until he I reminded him that that one likes to play peek-a-boo. :)
Maybe it’s the same deal with your son?
My oldest, now 6, had an undescended testicle, which wasn’t too worrysome, but had a hernia along with it. So, after having to push his insides back inside a couple times… He had surgury for it. He was somewhere between 1 and 2 at the time. He’s just fine now.
To determine if it’s retractable, as opposed to totally undescended, which I think is what determines no surgery versus surgery, the books say to check for it in a nice warm bath. Apparently there are lots of charts that say testicle found in jacuzzi or something along those lines.
My son had the somewhat related/similar inguinal hernia surgery at 4 and 1/2 months which went very smoothly. I second the recommendation to take the time to find the very best surgeon who takes your insurance. It’s worth it to spend the time to shop around. In my son’s case, the first surgeon we saw was going to open him up on both sides “just in case.” The second said that was not the standard of care and just fixed the actual problem.
I think I actually had something similar when I was a kid since I have a big scar down there. My equipment has been working fine and I even managed to produce a child (and one on the way) so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
AD
My nephew had the same problem. His teste decided not to drop. He underwent surgery and it was (apparently) a quick fix. I can report he bounced back quickly and is now the proud owner of two of his very own balls! However, Mom and Dad did not fare so well. They were nervous, anxious, and upset. The surgery was worse for them. They didn’t have any anesthesia!
Try feeling for it after a warm bath. My son had the same ‘problem’ at 9 months. But the Nurse Practitioner suggested trying to find it after they were warmed up, if you know what I mean.
Good luck! I’m sure it’s fine.
One of my boys had this, and he had a hernia as well. He had surgery when he was three and everything went well.
Good luck!
yea, they do have little silicon balls for guys that may desire that at some point.
my son just had surgery to repair an undescended testicle as well as a hernia six days ago, just days after his 5th birthday. I just wish his dr would have pointed this out to us earlier since this surgery is ideally performed at 6-18 months. Now I am concerned about his future fertility. I recommend having this taken care of as early as possible