[shadow mum]

Hi all. I'm hoping someone can shed some light for me. My 4 month old male had a routine vet appt today, and something came up. My vet said that only 1 of his testicles had dropped, and it was unlikely at this age that the other would, and this is a genetic issue passed from his sire. She advised that Shadow be neutered at 6 months to avoid health issues.

As I never had any plans to breed him, the neutering doesn't bother me, although I had wanted to wait for him to be 1 year old first. I am just concerned about how serious health issues could be because of this. Someone has told me that it can be dangerous during the summer months because of overheating of the internal testicle???? Also, the vet said that there is a possibility of this "tangling" with his other internal organs.

Other than this, and his small size, there were no other health concerns. I have to take him again in 3 weeks to be weighed. (he is 23 lbs), but height wise he is right on target.

Can anyone shed some light on this in understandable terms?

Thank you

 

[Barb E]

Dante was Cryptorchid. In discussions with my vet, his breeder and my research I waited until he was 14 months to neuter. The risk of cancer does go up with a retained testicle due to the heat in the abdomen. I don't know if summer would change that or not, hadn't heard that bit.

The only thing I wish we had done differently was an ultrasound prior to the surgery to locate the retained testicle. My vet said his was in an unusual place and extremely difficult to find.

As long as he was under general I had his hips x-rayed for an OFA prelim

Note: I am not a vet and don't even play one on tv!

 

[arycrest]

I've had several monorchids over the years and have waited to have them neutered until they were 18 to 24 months. I was told by several vets when Ringer's co-owner had me take him to several vets, including reproductive specialists, in Central and South Florida, that it won't hurt anything to wait, BUT not to wait any longer than two years before having the retained testicle removed.

 

[shadow mum]

Thank you. I feel better with my decision to wait. I really didn't want him neutered before 12 months at least, certainly not 6 months.

 

[djpohn]

One of my vets explained the cancer risk this way: "The problem with the testicle in the abdomen is the tissue in the testicle has a "X" percent chance of developing into a type of tumor (I would have to look up the exact type). This increases the dogs overall risk of developing testicular cancer which isn't that a high percentage to begin with."

Waiting a year or two doesn't carry that big a risk. There is a chance there is no second testicle or that it may reabsorb over time. You might want to consider an ultrasound to locate it as Barb suggested.

Another thing you could do is have the internal testicle removed and leave the one other til his is fully mature.

 

[arycrest]

Originally Posted By: GS Mom...
Another thing you could do is have the internal testicle removed and leave the one other til his is fully mature.

This is what I did when Mac had his vasectomy. I had the internal testicle removed at the same time as the vasectomy - it worked like a charm!!!