Twenty-six undescended testes in 22 patients between 1 and 31 years old were evaluated with ultrasonographic examination between October, 1981 and December, 1985. All 22 patients were operated on, and the accuracy of the ultrasonic diagnosis was evaluated in comparison to that of palpation diagnosis. Fourteen of 26 testes could be palpated preoperatively and these were all identified ultrasonographically and surgically. Twelve testes could not be palpated. On these 12 testes, surgical exploration revealed 9 testes in the inguinal region and absence of 3 testes. Ultrasound examination predicted its presence in 5 of 9 testes and its absence in all 3 testes. Both sonography and palpation failed to identify their presence in 4 tests. Thus, sensitivity of ultrasound examination was 82.6%, specificity 100% and accuracy 84.6% retrospectively. We conclude that ultrasound examination is useful in diagnosis of impalpable undescended testes in inguinal region.
Adolescent Adult