In order to shed some light on the controversy about the effectiveness of the medical treatment of undescended testes, we administered human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to 73 cryptorchid boys, aged seven months to 12 years and with no signs of puberty. Unilateral cryptorchidism was diagnosed in 75.4% of patients, and bilateral, in 24.6%. Boys with retractile testes were excluded from the study. We administered hCG intramuscularly at 1500 to 2000 IU/m2 twice a week for five weeks. After treatment, testicular descent was observed in 23.0% of patients with undescended testes; the positive outcome was often observed already in the first 2.5 weeks of treatment. All children were followed up for at least one year; cases of relapse were diagnosed in 8.3% of patients. Clinical signs of testosterone action faded shortly after the treatment, and by the third month after treatment there were no signs of side effects. We concluded that administration of hCG prior to surgical treatment in cryptorchid children is a valid alternative, since approximately one fourth of patients administered the testosterone will not require surgery.
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