Comparison of Laparoscopic Orchiopexy and Traditional Inguinal Incision Orchiopexy for Palpable Undescended Testes in Cryptorchidism

Background: Laparoscopic orchiopexy (LO) has become a standard procedure for the treatment of nonpalpable undescended testes (UDT). LO for palpable UDT is still controversial. The aim of this study is to explore the method and effect of LO procedure for palpable UDT in children suffering from cryptorchidism. Methods: A retrospective study was performed for LO and traditional inguinal incision orchiopexy (TIO) for palpable UDT. A total of 291 children were enrolled, and they were aged 9-96 months with either left- or right-side palpable inguinal canalicular testes. Patients with testes that were nonpalpable, ectopic, and retractable were excluded. One hundred seventy patients received LO and 121 patients received TIO. Patient age, operative time, and clinical outcomes were reviewed. Independent t-test and Fisher's exact test were performed by SPSS 25.0 software. Results: The mean operative time (30.77 +/- 6.02 minutes versus 44.76 +/- 6.70 minutes) and postoperative normal activity time (1.25 +/- 0.43 days versus 2.48 +/- 0.68 days) of LO were significantly shorter than those of TIO group (P < .05). Forty-seven of 49 cases (95.9%) aged Conclusion: LO is an appropriate choice for palpable UDT, especially in younger children aged <2 years. The success rate of LO decreased with age.