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Hormonal Treatment

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Descent of the Testis

Abstract

Hormone treatment for UDT has been tried for around 80 years with very limited success. Initial enthusiastic reports, first with androgens, then hCG and finally LHRH, have been replaced by subsequent poor results. It is now well established that hCG and LHRH therapy to achieve testicular descent have no significant place in patients with congenital cryptorchidism. Their potential role in the management of ascending or pathologically retractile testes, however, remains controversial. They may become useful ways to diagnose these apparently acquired anomalies. LHRH treatment may be important as an adjunct to surgery to stimulate germ cell maturation and hence reverse the potential infertility of maldescended testes after orchidopexy. At present, hormone treatment should be reserved for those institutions carrying out controlled trials and cannot be recommended for general use. In some older children, where there is a strong likelihood of the high testis being ‘retractile’ or ‘ascending’, hormone therapy may confirm the diagnosis and avoid surgery. LHRH treatment would seem superior to hCG administration, if only because a series of painful injections can be avoided.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Children’s Hospital University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

    John M. Hutson

  2. Univ. Hospital of Copenhagen Rigshospitalet, København, Denmark

    Jørgen M. Thorup

  3. University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand

    Spencer W. Beasley

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  2. Jørgen M. Thorup
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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Hutson, J.M., Thorup, J.M., Beasley, S.W. (2016). Hormonal Treatment. In: Descent of the Testis. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25910-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25910-9_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-25908-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-25910-9

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