Prospective Study of Gross and microscopic changes in 146 cases of Cryptorchid Testes at varied locations with particular reference to the incidence of Germ cell Tumors in Biopsy specimens

Cryptorchidism or undescended testes is a commonly observed congenital anomaly of male children seen in patients presenting in general and paediatric surgical practice of our region. Cryptorchid testes are observed unilaterally or bilaterally in one to ten per cent of male infants at birth1 and its incidence decreases to 0.8 per cent at the age of one year. Occasionally a truly cryptorchid testis descends spontaneously at puberty or in response to parental chorionic gonadotropin therapy , but this is not the rule and usually surgical exploration with orchidopexy or orchidectomy (in rare cases) is required. Cryptorchid testes are associated with varied pathological changes depending upon age at presentation, location of undescended testes and familial and genetic factors. In this study, we examined gross and microscopic changes in histological specimens of 146 patients operated in the department of General Surgery at Govt. Medical College Baramulla from Nov. 2014 to Dec. 2019 and concluded that most of the patients tend to present late for surgery especially in the rural settings of north Kashmir with consequent increased risks of malignancy and infertility.