The vanishing testis

Surgical exploration of 417 clinically impalpable cryptorchid testes revealed 84 (20%) instances of absent testes. Thirty-five (42%) of the 84 explorations showed complete absence of the testes along with the epididymis and vas, whereas 49 (58%) were associated with blind-ending cord structures: the “vanishing testis syndrome”. The presence of a vas deferens and vessels lying side by side in the inguinal canal strongly suggests that a testis existed at one time and subsequently vanished, probably as a result of antenatal vascular accident. The incidence of vanishing testes in our patients was higher than the true congenital absence of testis including vas deferns and epididymis.