Monorchidism surgery

KimberlynnL

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This week I had to take my 5 month old cat in because one testicle did not descend.Upon the vet doing surgery they extensively searched for the testicle but found that the path just lead to a narrowing blood vessel , meaning the testicle never developed from birth, he was born with just one. The surgery required 3 incisions trying to locate this missing testicle. I am a bit upset that they did not perform an x-ray or sonogram before manipulating so many of his organs trying to find something that was not present, if they had done so they could have simply just removed the one testicle that he had with a normal neutering procedure and he would not have had to go thru such an extensive surgery.
 

mani

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That is unfortunate K KimberlynnL . I'm sorry your boy had to go through that. Have you let the vet know how you feel? Polite feedback can help. :)
And welcome to TCS!
 

BlackCatOp

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Sorry to hear your kitty had to go thru such an ordeal. I hope he is recovering well!

Cryptorchid testicles can be located in one of three places, subcutaneous tissue (these can be palpated thru the skin), abdominal cavity or inguinal canal. If the retained testicle cannot be felt under the skin, it is generally assumed to be located in the abdomen. Most commonly the male cat has an incision similar to a female spay. If the testicle is not located easily within the abdomen the incision can be extended. Without knowing the location of your kitty’s incisions or what transpired during surgery, I don’t know why there would be three incisions (maybe the vet was checking all locations??) But it is important to make sure the testicle is removed as it can become cancerous later in life so it is good that your vet was complete in looking for the testicle.

FYI: While ultrasound/sonogram can be used to located cryptorchid testicles, not all practices have access to ultrasound and then even if they have the machine, not all veterinarians are skilled at reading ultrasound images especially when looking for abnormal anatomy such as the retained testicle. In addition, I don’t believe standard radiographs would have assisted your veterinarian in locating the testicle.

I know it can be hard to see our babies suffer but know you did the right thing!
 
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