The Independent Functioning of the Orchidopexied Congenital Undescended Testis as Assessed by Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography

Fertility after orchidopexied undescended testes (UDT) is impaired. Although fertility parameters are known to be more favorable in unilateral cases than in bilateral cases, the exact contribution of the unilateral orchidopexied UDT to fertility is unknown. We used testicular (18)F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG)-uptake assessed by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) to investigate the function of the orchidopexied unilateral congenital UDT, compared to its normally descended counterpart. We hypothesize that the contribution of the orchidopexied unilateral congenital UDT to fertility in adulthood is low. Eleven men who underwent orchidopexy for congenital UDT at the age of 1.9 ± 1.4 (range, 4.5 months -4.0) years were seen in follow-up at the age of 24.1 ± 2.3 (20.6-28.0) years. All underwent physical examination, testicular ultrasonography and PET/CT. Testicular (18)F-FDG-uptake was expressed as the peak Standardized Uptake Value (SUV(peak)). The mean SUV(peak) of the orchidopexied UDT was 2.74 ± 0.48 (2.13-3.47), which was significantly lower than its counterpart (P = 0.021). Besides, there was no correlation between the testicular volume and the SUV(peak). The orchidopexied congenital UDT has been shown to be less metabolically active than its contralateral counterpart. Nevertheless, we suggest that the operated testes function to some degree.