Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of treatment of Palpable Undescended Testis

Abstract Background Undescended testis is the most common endocrinological disease in the male newborn period. Incidence varies between 1.0% and 4.6% in full-term neonates, with rates as high as 45% in preterm neonates. Failure or delay of treatment can result in reduced fertility and/or increased testicular cancer risk in adulthood. Aim and objectives : To establish, through the available literature, which is the best technique, either hormonal therapy or surgical orchiopexy for treatment of palpable undescended testis through systematic review and meta-analysis. Subjects and methods : The review considered case-control studies, case report studies, and retrospective case follow-up evaluating the effectiveness or efficacy of a certain technique of treatment of palpable undescended testicles over other techniques either hormonal therapy and surgical orchiopexy according to age of the patient, This review considered all studies that involve infants with palpable undescended testicles, Search strategy is designed to include both manual and electronic data available. Electronic searches involved searching databases of PubMed (from Jan. 1987 till July 2017), EMbase, CINAHL and Cochrane database. Results The overall success rate of primary orchiopexy is 96.4% and the overall success rate for 2- stage FS is 86%. Conclusion There is good evidence for early placement of undescended testes in the scrotal position to prevent potential impairment of fertility and reduce the risk of testicular malignancy.