Background: In patients with impalpable testes,laparoscopy or open surgery is considered conclusive in establishing the absence of testicular tissue.
Methods: Retrospective chart review.
Results: Over a 22-year period, 4 out of 82 patients with a diagnosis of bilateral anorchia by laparoscopy or laparotomy had persistent testicular tissue suggested by endocrine evaluations. The clue to the presence of testicular tissue was: (1) a pubertal rise in plasma testosterone (2 patients); (2) the presence of possible Müllerian structures and of a detectable plasma anti-Müllerian hormone (1 patient), and (3) the fact that one of the gonads had not been seen at surgery (1 patient who still had a testosterone response to hCG postoperatively). Testes were localized by venography (3 patients) and laparotomy (1 patient).
Conclusion: A surgical diagnosis of bilateral anorchia needs to be confirmed by hCG stimulation, gonadotropin levels, or other markers of testicular function.
2004 S. Karger AG, Basel