Neurodevelopmental Delay Associated With Delayed Orchiopexy for Children With Cryptorchidism
Author Department
Surgery; Pediatrics
Document Type
Article, Peer-reviewed
Publication Date
4-2026
Abstract
Introduction: s recommend orchiopexy by 18 mo of age to optimize outcomes. Previous studies have shown that nearly half of cases do not meet this benchmark. Our goal was to identify whether a diagnosis of neurodevelopmental delay (NDD) correlated with delayed surgical management.
Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients under 18 y old at a single tertiary care children's hospital who underwent orchiopexy for congenital cryptorchidism from January 1, 2016-December 31, 2023. Orchiopexies for other indications were excluded. Data included age, demographics, comorbidities, unilaterality versus bilaterality, two-stage procedure, and complications. These variables were compared between patients identified to have NDD and those without. Nonparametric continuous data are shown as median/interquartile interval and categorical as frequencies/percentages. Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test compared continuous data, and Chi-square and Fisher exact test compared categorical data.
Results: A total of 149 patients were evaluated. The median (interquartile interval) age was 10 mo (120.4) at referral and 16 mo (109.0) at surgery. Fifty-five percent had surgery by 18 mo. Sixteen patients had a diagnosis of NDD whereas 133 did not. Comparing the NDD and no NDD cohorts, patients with NDD were more likely to have referral and orchiopexy after 18 mo (P = 0.05, P = 0.04). Patients with NDD underwent surgery at a median 72 mo (119) versus 15 mo (64). Children with NDD were more likely to require bilateral repair (P < 0.001). Average surgical follow-up was 13.7 mo. The complication rate was 14.1%: 5.4% short-term, 8.7% long-term. There was no difference in complications between groups (P = 0.84).
Conclusions: Patients with NDD were less likely to undergo orchiopexy for undescended testicle by the recommended 18 mo of age compared to their peers without NDD.
Keywords: Cognitive delay; Cryptorchidism; Developmental delay; Orchiopexy; Pediatric; Surgery; Undescended testicle.
Recommended Citation
Rosenberg M, Furrukh AJ, Chen SJ, Perez Coulter A, Pepper V, Banever G, Tashjian D, Moriarty K, Tirabassi MV. Neurodevelopmental Delay Associated With Delayed Orchiopexy for Children With Cryptorchidism. J Surg Res. 2026 Apr 1;321:409-414. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2026.03.027. Epub ahead of print.
PMID
41926798