Undescended testicle surgery (orchidopexy)

What is undescended testicle surgery (orchidopexy)?

Before birth, a baby boy's testicles form inside the tummy and normally move down into the scrotum. In some boys, one or both testicles do not come all the way down. This is called an undescended testicle, and it is common, especially in babies born early.

Many undescended testicles come down on their own in the first few months. If a testicle has not come down by around six months of age, surgery called an orchidopexy is usually recommended to bring it into the scrotum and stitch it gently in place so it stays there. UK specialists generally advise this is done before your child's first birthday.

The operation is done while your child is asleep under a general anaesthetic. It is usually a day case, so your child can go home the same day. Bringing the testicle down is important because a testicle that stays in the wrong place can affect future fertility and slightly increases the risk of testicular cancer later in life. Surgery also makes the testicle easier to examine in the future.

This guide is written for parents and carers, to help you understand the operation and ask the right questions. It is not a substitute for the advice of your child's surgeon.

Types & techniques

There isn't one single operation. The right approach depends on you — which is something to discuss with your surgeon.

Options at a glance

These are the main approaches described in this guide. The right option depends on the diagnosis, your goals and what your clinician thinks is safe.

Preparing for your surgery

• Your child will be examined to confirm where the testicle is; if it cannot be felt, keyhole surgery may be planned to find it.
• A parent or carer should plan to stay with your child before and after the operation and to bring them home.
• Follow the hospital's fasting instructions carefully — your child will be told when to stop food, milk and drinks before the anaesthetic.
• Bring comfort items (a favourite toy, blanket or dummy) and nappies or loose clothing for afterwards.
• Tell the team about any allergies, medicines, recent coughs or colds, and any family history of anaesthetic problems.
• Ask how the anaesthetic will be given and how your child's pain will be managed, and prepare your child in simple, reassuring words.

What happens

Your child is given a general anaesthetic so they are completely asleep and feel nothing during the operation. A children's anaesthetist looks after them throughout.

If the testicle can be felt, the surgeon makes a small cut in the groin and a small cut in the scrotum, gently frees the testicle and its blood vessels and tube, brings it down, and stitches it loosely inside the scrotum so it cannot move back up. The passage it should have travelled through is closed. If the testicle cannot be felt, a keyhole telescope is used to find it inside the tummy, and the operation may be done in one or two stages.

The operation usually takes about 45–60 minutes. The cuts are closed with dissolving stitches and sometimes skin glue or paper strips. Most children go home the same day once they are awake, comfortable and able to drink.

Is this operation right for me?

A good consultation should explore whether it's the right choice for you now — including reasons to wait or consider something else.

Before you decide

Use this as a shared-decision checklist. The aim is not just “can this be done?”, but whether it is right for you, now, with the risks and alternatives clearly understood.

Anaesthetic choices

The safest option depends on the operation, your health, the facility and your surgeon/anaesthetist. Ask what is planned and why.

The most important specific risk is that, occasionally, the testicle does not survive in its new position because of its delicate blood supply, and rarely the operation needs repeating. This is more likely when the testicle started very high inside the tummy. Ask your surgeon how often this happens in their practice and what the plan would be if it did. Make sure your child is cared for by a team experienced in children's surgery and anaesthesia.

Published figures to discuss

Most orchidopexies are successful, but outcomes depend heavily on how high the testicle started and whether it was felt before surgery. Success and complication figures come from surgical series and vary; testicles that begin high inside the tummy have a higher chance of not surviving in their new position. Avoid clinics quoting guaranteed success.

These are literature figures, not a personalised prediction. Your own risks and likely benefits depend on your circumstances, your health, and how your care is carried out and followed up.

Recovery — what to expect, and when

Most children recover quickly. After a day-case operation, many are back to gentle play within a day or two and back at nursery or school within a few days, avoiding rough activities for a few weeks while everything heals.

• Bruising and swelling of the groin and scrotum that improves over 1–2 weeks
• Mild discomfort, especially when active, for the first few days
• Stitches, glue or strips coming away by themselves within about a week
• Your child being a little clingy or unsettled for a day or two after the anaesthetic

Aftercare

• Give pain relief such as paracetamol regularly for the first few days as advised.
• Keep the wound clean and dry, following the hospital's bathing advice.
• Change nappies promptly and gently to keep the area clean.
• Dress your child in loose, comfortable clothing.
• Avoid bikes, ride-on and straddling toys and rough play for the advised few weeks.
• Look out for and report signs of infection, increasing pain or swelling.
• Attend the follow-up appointment to check the testicle's position and growth.
• Keep the ward or day-unit phone number handy in case you are worried.

• Children's paracetamol (and any advised pain relief) at home
• Loose clothing and nappies ready
• Fasting instructions followed before the operation
• A parent or carer free to stay and to bring your child home
• Time off nursery or school arranged (usually a few days)
• Ward or day-unit contact number saved
• Follow-up appointment noted

Scars and how they heal

There are usually one or two small cuts — in the groin and the scrotum, or several tiny keyhole cuts. They are closed with dissolving stitches and often glue or paper strips, and the scars are small and usually fade well as your child grows. Some bruising around the area is normal at first.

⚠ Get urgent help if…

• A high temperature, your child seeming generally unwell, or spreading redness around the wound
• Increasing pain, swelling or a hot, hard scrotum
• A wound that is bleeding, opening or leaking pus
• Your child not drinking, very drowsy, or difficult to wake
• Breathing difficulty, persistent vomiting or signs of dehydration (very few wet nappies)
• The testicle disappearing from the scrotum again

Who to contact: your surgeon or clinic first (keep their number to hand). For urgent advice when you can't reach them, call NHS 111. In an emergency, call 999.

General guidance — it doesn't replace the specific advice your surgeon gives you.

Results & realistic expectations

A good result is the testicle sitting comfortably in the scrotum, where it can develop and be easily examined in future. This is confirmed at a follow-up check, usually around three months after surgery.

Surgery cannot guarantee that the testicle will work perfectly or that fertility will be completely normal, especially if both testicles were affected or surgery was done later. It also does not remove the slightly increased lifelong risk linked to testicular cancer, which is why teaching your son to check his testicles as a teenager remains important. Your surgeon will explain what to expect in your child's case.

Once the testicle is successfully fixed in the scrotum, it usually stays there for life. Occasionally a testicle can move back up as a child grows and need a further operation. The long-term aim is a healthy, well-positioned testicle that can be examined easily throughout life.

Combining with other procedures

If both testicles are undescended, they may be brought down in the same operation or in separate operations, depending on their position. Sometimes a hernia or a fluid swelling (hydrocele) is found at the same time and repaired during the operation. Your surgeon will explain if anything else needs doing.

Follow-up & long-term care

Your child is usually reviewed a few months after surgery to check the testicle is in the right place and growing well. You should contact the team sooner if you notice signs of infection, increasing pain, or the testicle moving back up. As your son grows, his GP can continue to keep an eye on things.

Revision and secondary surgery reality

• A testicle that re-ascends or was left high may need a further operation.
• High intra-abdominal testicles are sometimes deliberately treated in two stages a few months apart.
• If the testicle does not survive, an absent or atrophic testicle may be removed and a prosthesis discussed in later years.
• Follow-up exists partly to catch the small number of children who need more surgery.

Ask your surgeon for their own revision rate, what counts as a revision, and what is included in the written aftercare policy.

What good aftercare looks like

• Clear written advice on pain relief, wound care and activity for a child
• A named ward or day-unit contact for parents who are worried
• A planned follow-up to confirm the testicle's position and growth
• Clear safeguarding-aware, child-friendly communication throughout
• Advice for later life on regular testicular self-examination as your son grows up

What affects the cost

Costs vary a great deal between people and providers, and we don't publish prices. What matters is understanding what drives the cost and making sure your quote is complete. The main things that affect it:

• Whether open or keyhole surgery is needed, and whether it is one or two stages
• Surgeon's fee and the children's anaesthetist's fee
• Theatre and day-case facility fees in a hospital set up for children
• Any imaging or examination under anaesthetic needed to locate the testicle
• Follow-up appointments to check the testicle's position and growth
• Care of any complication, such as infection or a repeat operation

• The surgeon and children's anaesthetist fees and what is included
• The day-case facility and theatre fees
• Whether the hospital is set up for children's surgery and overnight care if needed
• Follow-up appointment costs
• What happens, and what it costs, if the testicle needs a second-stage or repeat operation
• The policy if a complication such as infection occurs

On the NHS? Orchidopexy is a routine NHS operation for children when a testicle has not descended; private care is sometimes chosen for timing or choice of surgeon, but it should always be carried out by a team experienced in children's surgery.

You're entitled to your total cost in writing — including aftercare and any revision — before you decide.

Consent traps and marketing red flags

These are not small details. They are often where patients lose choice, time to reflect, or realistic expectations.

Choosing a surgeon safely

• Check your surgeon is on the GMC Specialist Register for this area.
• Make sure they practise at a CQC-registered location, and look for membership of bodies like BAAPS or BAPRAS.
• You're entitled to a two-stage consent process with time to reflect (a cooling-off period). The surgeon who will operate must consent you — not a salesperson.
• Be wary of pressure: time-limited offers, discounts or deposits taken before you've had time to think are red flags, not bargains.
• You're entitled to your total cost in writing — including aftercare and any revision — before you decide.

How Vuemedics verifies every consultant →

Take this to your consultation. A good surgeon will welcome every one of these.

• Where is my son's testicle, and which type of operation will you use?
• Will it be done in one operation or two stages?
• How often, in your practice, does the testicle not survive or need a repeat operation?
• Who will give the anaesthetic, and how will my child's pain be managed?
• What should I look out for at home, and who do I call if I am worried?
• When will the follow-up be, and what will you check?
• Are you on the GMC Specialist Register for this area, and which Royal College or professional body are you a member of?
• Will you be the surgeon who carries out my operation, and who looks after me afterwards?
• What are the risks for someone like me, and how often do your own patients have a problem or need it repeated or redone?
• What does a realistic result look like — and what can this operation not achieve?
• What are my options, including waiting, doing nothing for now, or choosing a different approach?
• Can I have written information, results and aftercare instructions in a format I can use, including any accessibility or communication support I need?
• What is the total cost in writing, including any follow-ups, and how much time do I have to decide?

Find a verified surgeon for undescended testicle surgery (orchidopexy)

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How we made this page

Medically reviewed by a GMC-registered consultant. Written in plain English, checked against NHS, NICE, GMC and relevant Royal College / specialist-society guidance, and kept under review. No clinic paid to appear on this page, and we publish no pricing. This is general information to help you prepare — it is not a substitute for advice from your own clinician. How we review our guides →

Source hierarchy: UK regulator and NHS/NICE guidance first, then relevant Royal College or specialist-society guidance, then peer-reviewed evidence for procedure-specific figures where available.

Sources & standards: GOSH — Undescended testicles NHS — Undescended testicles: treatment BAPS — The case for early orchidopexy NHS England — Commissioning guide: paediatric orchidopexy for undescended testis Evelina London — Your child's surgery for an undescended testicle (orchidopexy)

Reviews reflect patients' experience of care, not clinical outcomes. For procedure volumes and outcome data see PHIN.

Last medically reviewed 2026-09-21. Spotted something wrong or out of date? Report an error in this guide.