Undescended testicle

Undescended testicle occurs when one or both testicles fail to move into the scrotum before birth.

Causes:
Most of the time, a boy’s testicles descend by the time he is 9 months old. Undescended testicles are fairly common in infants who are born early. The problem occurs less often in full-term infants.

Some babies have a condition called retractile testes and the health care provider may not be able find the testicles. In this case, the testicle is normal but is pulled back out of the scrotum by a muscle reflex. This is able to occur because the testicles are still small before puberty.

Testicles that do not naturally descend into the scrotum are considered abnormal. An undescended testicle is more likely to develop cancer.

Bringing the testicle into the scrotum can improve sperm production and increase the chances of good fertility.