Laparoscopic management of the undescended testicle

The role of laparoscopy with regards to the undescended testicle has been h otly debated since the late 1970s and early 1980s when it was realized that the abdominal testicle could be visualized with the laparoscope. Many enth usiastically embraced the laparoscope for diagnosis and localization of the impalpable undescended testicle, whereas others staunchly maintained that laparoscopy was overly invasive and really facilitated little with regards to orchidopexy. Diagnostic laparoscopy, when compared with the other modali ties, holds its own well with regards to accuracy and efficacy. In the earl y 1990s, the role of laparoscopy expanded to include performance of orchido pexy. It would be naive to believe that the debate cooled with the evolutio n of laparoscopic orchidopexy. Over the years, since introduction of the op eration, there have been many institutions that have examined the role of l aparoscopic orchidopexy quite critically. In many people's minds, laparosco pic orchidopexy is a clear competitor to open orchidopexy for the impalpabl e undescended abdominal testicle; in a few people's minds, it has become th e gold standard.