My Baby Has an Undescended/absent Testicle

I would not put this in the category of vain at all. A friend of mine's son was born with his abdomen open. After birth they went in and put all his organs in place and closed him up. She debated on putting a belly button on her son. She postponed because it seemed silly but soon realized that kids did wonder, make fun, think he was weird and a complex will develop out of it. She put a belly button on and much of that complex has dissipated.

I've been through some of this. Sorry--I know it is stressful.
The thing is, now doctors know that an undescended testicle left in the wrong place is a major risk factor for testcular cancer. So, if it's still there, the urologist will want to go after it, whether or not it's still viable.
If it's non-viable,there's a good chance it will just shrink away, but only an experienced urologist can tell for sure. You do not want any testicular tissue hanging around in the wrong place.
Our son's testicle twisted as it descended and left him with an opening from his scrotum to his abdominal cavity (a "communicating hydrocele") which he needed surgery to correct, in spite of the fact that the torsed teste shrank away over a few months. We went to see a pediatric urologist at Primary Children's Medical Center who was pretty much the baby testicle expert of the world (really) and he assured us that whenever the body loses one of something, the remaining part intensifies. Sooo, one testicle become like 150 percent powered testicle to make up for the missing one. That allayed my fears of infertility issues for my son.
As for prosthesis, that's something to consider as he grows up--I doubt it's something a surgeon would do now. I will say that I have three sons, and you cannot tell by looking who is missing a testicle. My husband and I have commented to each other that if anyone besides the doctor is looking at our kid *that* closely, we'll be calling the police, not worrying about his vanity. ;) Our one son is almost seven years old now, and it's been a non-issue to him. Chastity is taught in our home, so (while I realize I may sound naive) I am not worried about his testicle issue causing any self-consciousness with girls.
Best wishes.

My son was born with undecended testicles. He had to have surgery to get them where they should be. But I wouldn't get a prostetic for and absent testicle. No one will really notice and the women that do, well I hope they wouldn't be too many, or too judgemental, you wouldn't want him dating woman like that anyway right?

My baby boy was also born with an undescended testicle - its actually more common than we thought, about 3% of baby boys are born that way! The doctor told us that they usually descend within 2 months after birth and definintely within a year. They could feel his testicle though, so they weren't worried tht it wasnt there, and it descended on its own by about a month and a half old. Although at 7 mos old, its still "shy" LOL, and isn't there every time I change his diaper! They did say that if the testicle hadn't descended by 1 year, then there was a quick and easy surgery they could to to bring it down. It sounds like with your boy they aren't even sure is he has a second testicle? If he is 14 mos and it still hasnt dropped on its own than it sounds like surgery is neccessary, although I would be careful though, because in all honesty, men can function just fine with only one testicle, they really dont need to have two. I understand your concern about him being made fun of or stared at ect, but I don't think its very well founded, because honestly how many people will ever be close enough to him to be able to tell he only has one? Even in the locker room guys dont get that close to eachother. The only time it would be noticed is when he is getting intimate with a girl, and i really dont think it would hinder him in that area at all either (I mean, if he is getting intimate with someone, hopefully he will know her well enough that she wouldnt laugh at him or mock him?)
My other question about a prosthetic testicle, is how big would it be and when would they put it in? If they put in an adult-sized testicle when he is little than atleast he wouldn't have to get surgery more than once, but he would also have a HUGE testicle for his whole childhood, which would probably be more noticable in the locker room then if he was missing one. I don't know al the ins and outs of getting a prosthetic teticle, but it seems that they would either have to do the surgery twice so it would be somewhat the right size for the rest of his body, or they would have to implant it when he hits puberty, and it thats the case then he will be old enough to give his opinion on the matter. He may like it the way it is or he may want to change it, but then atleast its his decision. Well. I hope I helped. Good luck with everything!

My son only has one testicle too, he's only 7 years old, so it doesn't effect him at all right now. If it's something that really bothers him when he's older, then we could talk about a prosthetic, but I doubt it will be an issue for him.
I think at this point a prosthethic would be of no benefit and would have to be resized.
Honestly, I can't really tell that he only has one. Good luck with the surgery, it's a fast procedure if it's absent. Within 10 minutes they were out in the waiting room to tell us it was over. :)

I had a cousin that was born with an undescended one and he didnt have surgery untill later in teen years. I question a Dr that wants to go surgically exploring around in a baby that young. I sure would get the 3 opinion thing right away!!! And whatever happened with all the new fangled images and x rays now days??
If you are in Trinidad you didnt get one of the barbaric old ones did you? The new Drs from the Philipines seem really up to date there.
Oh, it is funny how we get so worried about things when we are new mommies.......lets just hope not too many girls will get a look at him without his pants off for a few years at least!!!!!
I am sure your little guy will be fine as you teach him what his gifts are as he grows and he learns that I bet he can do lots of things that some people with two hands cant , or be kind when others dont know how,

I taught my girls that had dislexia that they were just as smart as anyone and those who can read and write easily arnt as artistically gifted as were etc. Did such a "good" job convincing one that when she is on the computer I say, hey you can use spell check and she will tell me, "if they dont like me as I am I dont care"!

I always laughed at the "well I might be fat , but you are ugly ...and I can lose weight" joke....expample: I might not have two hands but I have enough manners to know not to ask you why you (have a big nose, are rude) etc!!!

My son had an undesended testical and about 4 yrs of age had it brought down but it didnt work and I had thought about having a prosthic one but they have to be changed at different ages as he grows so figured to wait until he was older.

L.,
I read an article about how too much soy can cause this:
http://westonaprice.org/soy/phytoestrogens.html

The Effects of Antenatal Exposure to Phytoestrogens on Human Male Reproductive and Urogenital Development
by Bernard Poggi

"Recently in the news we have been hearing about declines in male fertility and increases in reproductive birth defects in males. We have discovered substitutes and replacements for products that have been part of our culture for hundreds of years, and we readily embrace new developments and technologies that make our lives easier. Now more than ever consumers are being exposed to many factors that may disrupt our delicate hormonal balances...."

This article gets a little technical, and it's long, but I think it's important.
Hope this helps,
-B.

L.,
I don't think your concerns are vain. You are just trying to make your wonderful child feel better any way you can in your current situation. Chances are the doctors won't be able to do a prosthetic as he will be growing and changing so much. This might be something that you, your husband and son discuss as he gets older. Let him make the decision and know that you both support him either way. When the time comes for him to feel comfortable around women/girls he may be comfortable enough with himself to not want the prosthetic. Best of luck and I bet you have a beautiful son, people can be cruel and mean, and unfortunely they attack the innocent children to make themselves feel better. I completely understand THAT! God bless and stay strong.

I'm sorry that your son has to go through all these and on top of that deal with insensitive, rude adults that stare. As far as the testicle, I don't have any personal experience, but I would say that any prosthetic should be his decision as he gets older, not yours, and definitely not now.

Hi, my littlest (now almost 3) was born with the same condition. Our midwife said to wait 2-3 years to see if it descended on its own. It has. We didn't have to put him through any kind of surgery. You can google my midwife's website and then email her with further questions. She can be googled under Heritage Homebirth Midwifery and her name is Jean Dhority. Best wishes. Jen

One of my sons had an undescended testicle as well. When they did the surgery it was located but whithered and was removed. It did not make a difference in his male characteristics and he had not problems that I am aware of. He has a beautiful daughter and is a great daddy now.

There will be very few times when the world in general will even be aware of this difference. If he asks reassure him that he is still all male and don't worry too much about it.