Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Polyorchidism was first described by Blasius in 16701 during a routine autopsy. We report a child with unilateral polyorchidism and a contralateral absent testis, a combination not reported previously.
PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 2-year-old boy was referred to the outpatient clinic with an impalpable left testis. At laparoscopy, the left vas deferens and testicular vessels ended blindly proximal to a closed internal ring. No gonadal tissue was identified. On the right side, a single vas deferens and testicular vessels were seen entering the internal ring as normal. The right side of the scrotum was explored and two testes were identified within a single tunica vaginalis.
DISCUSSION: Polyorchidism is rare with a literature search identifying approximately 230 reported cases. Whilst prenatal testicular torsion is increasing being recognized and treated as a surgical emergency,9 prenatal testicular torsion in association with polyorchidism has not been previously reported.
CONCLUSION: We describe a unique case of a 2-year-old boy with right -sided polyorchidism and an absent left testis associated with a blind ending vas deferens and testicular vessels, presumed secondary to intrauterine testicular torsion. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of Surgical Associates Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license