Orchiopexy: one procedure, two diagnoses – different male infertility outcomes

Nitza Heiman Newman, Idan Farber, Eitan Lunenfeld, Atif Zeadna, Iris Har Vardi, Zaki Assi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Infertility, affecting one in six couples, is often related to the male partner’s congenital and/or environmental conditions or complications postsurgery. This retrospective study examines the link between orchiopexy for undescended testicles (UDT) and testicular torsion (TT) in childhood and adult fertility as assessed through sperm analysis. The study involved the analysis of semen samples from 7743 patients collected at Soroka University Medical Center (Beer Sheva, Israel) between January 2009 and December 2017. Patients were classified into two groups based on sperm concentration: those with concentrations below 5 × 106 sperm per ml (AS group) and those above (MN group). Medical records and surgical histories were reviewed, categorizing orchiopexies by surgical approach. Among 140 individuals who had undergone pediatric surgery, 83 (59.3%) were placed in the MN group and 57 (40.7%) in the AS group. A higher likelihood of being in the MN group was observed in Jewish compared to Arab patients (75.9% vs 24.1%, P = 0.006). In cases of childhood UDT, 45 (78.9%) patients exhibited sperm concentrations below 5 × 106 sperm per ml (P < 0.001), and 66 (76.7%) had undergone unilateral and 18 (20.9%) bilateral orchiopexy. Bilateral orchiopexy was significantly associated with lower sperm concentration, total motility, and progressive motility than unilateral cases (P = 0.014, P = 0.001, and P = 0.031, respectively). Multivariate analysis identified UDT as a weak risk factor for low sperm concentration (odds ratio [OR]: 2.712, P = 0.078), with bilateral UDT further increasing this risk (OR: 6.314, P = 0.012). Jewish ethnicity and TT diagnosis were associated with a reduced risk of sperm concentrations below 5 × 106 sperm per ml. The findings indicate that initial diagnosis, surgical approach, and ethnicity markedly influence male fertility outcomes following pediatric orchiopexy. Asian Journal of Andrology (2024) 26, 472–478; doi: 10.4103/aja202410;

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)472-478
Number of pages7
JournalAsian Journal of Andrology
Volume26
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

Keywords

  • male infertility
  • orchiopexy
  • sperm analysis
  • testicular torsion
  • undescended testicle

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