Comparison of penile length at 6–24 months between children with unilateral cryptorchidism and a healthy normal cohort

PURPOSE: Urologic diseases affected by testosterone can be associated with smaller penis size compared to the normal population. We sought to compare penile length in children with unilateral cryptorchidism and normative data from a cohort of healthy Korean boys. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was performed in 259 Korean boys (212, normal cohort; 47, cryptorchidism) aged 6–24 months, each of whom had been brought to an outpatient clinic at one of five tertiary hospitals (Gyeongsangnam-do Province) between April 2014 and June 2015. Penile length was measured via stretched penile length (SPL) and testicular size was measured using orchidometry (mL). RESULTS: SPL in children with cryptorchidism was significantly shorter compared to a cohort of healthy Korean boys aged 6–24 months (3.7±0.5 cm and 4.3±0.8 cm, p<0.001), although there were no differences with regard to height, body weight and contralateral testicular size between the two groups. According to the stratified ages (6–12, 12–18, and 18–24 months), SPL in children with cryptorchidism was persistently shorter at their ages than those without. CONCLUSIONS: It might be that the penile length aged 6–24 months of children with unilateral cryptorchidism is shorter than that of a cohort of healthy Korean boys.