Laparoscopy in the evaluation of the non-palpable undescended testes.

AIM OF STUDY To examine the role of laparoscopy in the evaluation of the non-palpable undescended testes in paediatric patients. METHOD A review of all laparoscopies performed for the evaluation of the non-palpable undescended testes in a children's hospital over a 12-month period was conducted. Special attention was paid to the patients' age, the location of the testes at the time of laparoscopy, the subsequent surgical procedures and the complications. RESULTS Sixteen boys underwent laparoscopy to localise 20 nonpalpable testes. 12 patients had unilateral disease while 4 had bilateral disease. 15 non-palpable testes were intraabdominal, 3 had inguinal testicular remnants and 2 had 'vanished'. A contralateral inguinal hernia was incidentally found in one patient. A patient with epididymal-gonadal non-union was not apparent at laparoscopy. There were no post-laparoscopic complications in all 16 patients. CONCLUSION Laparoscopy is safe and accurate in the evaluation of non-palpable testes in children. The accurate localisation of intraabdominal testes facilitates the development of an optimal surgical strategy.