Mom worried doctor harmed son’s manhood

A concerned mother believes that the health system has failed her son, who was born with cryptorchidism or undescended testicles.

Though uncommon, the condition can occur in babies when their testicles, which are in the abdomen, do not move into the scrotum upon birth.

"Occasionally something may go wrong and it doesn't make it. The testicles can still be in the abdomen; it can be in the groin region," urologist Dr Elon Thompson told THE STAR. The mother discovered that her son's testicles were not where they should be while bathing him one Christmas Eve. She said that as she tried to wash the area, he cried and screamed like never before. The mother of two did not hesitate to take him to the hospital.

But the mother told THE STAR that after the doctor completed what was supposed to be a minor procedure, he called her into his office and informed her that her son's testicles had shrunk and were too far up to be placed in the scrotum where they belonged. The mother said that she was heartbroken by this news.

"I had nightmares," opining that the doctor expressed little sympathy.

"I could not sit. I stood and I held on to the columns in his office with tears flooding me, and this doctor had his head hung down, didn't even try to see if he could comfort me in any form. He was just there telling me it's something that boy child go through," she explained.

However, Thompson told THE STAR that "There is a concern of it becoming a cancer or malignant if it remains in the abdomen for a long period of time."

The mother decided to get a second opinion from her son's paediatrician and was referred to a urologist. The child was subsequently sent to do multiple ultrasounds and an MRI, all of which showed that his testicles were in good condition despite being slightly shrunken.

As a result, the doctor decided to a second surgery in November and, based on his assessments so far, opined that her son will have a normal manhood and has a strong chance of being able to reproduce. However the mother is worried that something might go wrong.

"Even though I can feel the testicles in the sac, I am still scared," the mother said, adding that she feels it is unfair for her child to have endured a second surgery when the first should have corrected the issue.

"No child at this age should have to go through all of this ... in my mind as soon as the testicles fully heal, I am going to have to take him to get them tested again to ensure that they are at the right place they need to be," she said.