A frantic mother came into my consulting room looking
worried and agitated. Her two sons; a set of identical twins walked in after
her.
‘It is alright madam’, I calmly said
‘How can I be of help to you? I asked
‘My boys’ sacks are empty’ she sniffed
The twins were about 10yrs old and they were holding no bags,
neither were they dragging along any sacs
‘Madam, take it easy’ I said in an attempt to calm her
She did not stop until she was done undressing both of them.
They looked normal to me until my gaze fell on their
genitals and then I immediately understood her worry.
‘They were born like this; they have no balls in their
manhood bags’ she said
On proper examination of these identical set of twins, I
found out their scrotal sacs were empty. They both had no testes in their
scrotum!!
The woman delivered at home under the supervision of a
fellow neighbour. The mother noticed the empty sacs and commenced the set of
twins on traditional medications all those years. She never attempted going to
at least a primary health care centre. I then proceeded to tell her what the
condition was.
It’s called ‘undescended testes’ and it means that the
testes don’t move downward from the abdomen into the scrotum and are therefore
trapped in the abdomen during development. It could affect just one testis or the two testes.
All mothers especially those who deliver at home without
medical check up and follow up have a responsibility to check their babies for
any obvious abnormality.
Undescended testes can be associated with some other
abnormalities at birth, but often times the babies are otherwise normal.
Corrective surgery for undescended testes should be done
before the age of 2 years.... with a good reproductive outcome.
Undescended testes can predispose to...cancer, subfertility
if not corrected as at when due.
This lady brought her sons who were already 10yrs
old...could it be too late?
In our society, who knows how many male children born with
undescended testes have been overlooked and then later turn out to be sub
fertile during their reproductive years just because their parents did not know
that corrective surgery for the condition
could be done at an early age
Dr Dileem
The Likita Bokanturai
Kano Nigeria
it is a sad situation,most especially painful for the children that will spend the rest of their lives with a scar knowing that their condition could have been remedied. i guess the ignorance of their parents with society included is not an excuse. the children's parents and society at large share equal responsibility. the various avenues of enlightenment have been ignored fot too long. individuals have used religion,ethnicity and poverty to stock fear that has become a bane to growth and development. some feel that western medicine is a taboo. regular or once a year medical checks in a proper hospital would have made a big difference in the lives of these children. i am saddened by this revelation and that the children's right to a fruitful fulfilling life has been darkened. only God knows what the future holds by Kingsley Onuelu
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