Triorchidism, a Rare Genitourinary Anomaly: A Case Series

Abstract

Triorchidism is the most common type of polyorchidism. In general, polyorchidism is a rare congenital anomaly that has been reported in around two hundred cases to date. We report a case series on 5- and 12-year-old boys that visited our hospital for undescended testis, and during intervention, triorchidism was found incidentally. This case series offers brief discussion on polyorchidism and its management principles ascribed in different literatures.

Polyorchidism – An Incidental Finding During Orchidopexy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

“…Most patients are reported to be in their early adulthood, with approximately 50% of cases reported between 15 and 25 years of age. 3,4 Although the exact etiology of polyorchidism is not known, the proposed mechanism is considered to be a longitudinal or transverse division of the genital ridge, possibly due to the development of peritoneal bands during early embryogenesis. Depending upon the level of the division and the segmentation plane, the supernumerary testis may or may not remain in communication with the vas deferens and epididymis.…”

“…Depending upon the level of the division and the segmentation plane, the supernumerary testis may or may not remain in communication with the vas deferens and epididymis. 2,3,5 Different classification systems have been reported in the literature. Leung described the anatomical variations on a possible embryological basis.…”

“…Type 2 is considered to be the most common and together with type 3, they comprise 90% of polyorchidism. [2][3][4][5][6][7] In our case, the patient had type 3 polyorchidism with completely separate epididymis but shares the vas deferens.…”

“…However, for polyorchidism with extra-scrotal testis or the presence of associated complications such as testicular atrophy, torsion, or malignancy, surgical exploration is recommended. [1][2][3] Here we present a case of incidentally detected polyorchidism during orchidopexy for the left undescended testis in 7-year-old boy.…”

“…The estimated risk of malignancy is around 6% and cryptorchidism appears to be the most important risk factor for malignancy. 3 The management of polyorchidism remains debatable, but it depends on patientrelated factors, such as the location of the testis, the reproductive potential, the size of the testis, and the age of the patient. The orthotopic supernumerary testis can be managed conservatively with clinical surveillance.…”