Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Assessing the Efficacy of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Versus Testosterone in Managing Post-Orchiopexy Testicular Atrophy: A Study from a Resource-Constrained Healthcare Facility

Mohammed J Aboud

Asian Journal of Advanced Research and Reports · pp. 527–537 · Published 5 Jun 2025

10.9734/ajarr/2025/v19i51035

Abstract

Cryptorchidism, affecting 1–4% of full-term male infants, poses long-term risks of infertility, hormonal dysfunction, and testicular malignancy if untreated. Orchiopexy, the gold-standard surgical intervention, aims to reposition the testes into the scrotum to preserve fertility and hormonal function. However, postoperative testicular atrophy, characterized by a ≥20% reduction in testicular volume, can undermine these benefits, necessitating adjuvant therapies to salvage compromised gonadal tissue. This prospective, randomized, single-center cohort study evaluated the efficacy of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) versus testosterone in managing testicular atrophy following orchiopexy in pediatric patients. Participants were randomized 1:1 into two treatment arms using block randomization (block size = 4) stratified by laterality (unilateral vs. bilateral). For the normality test, the Shapiro-Wilk test was used to verify the normal distribution of continuous variables. Between-group comparisons; an independent samples t-test was used for comparing mean testicular volumes and Doppler parameters (PSV, RI) between Group A and Group B at each time point. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v.27 (IBM Corp.) and R software v.4.1.2 (IBM, free, open-source software environment for statistical computing and graphics), with significance set at p < 0.05.  A higher proportion of patients achieved significant testicular volume gain (responders, defined as patients achieving a ≥50% increase in testicular volume at 6 months). This was observed in 21 (87.5%) patients in the hCG group and 18 (78.3%) in the testosterone group (p = 0.37). This underscores the superior efficacy of hCG therapy in inducing testicular growth.  Our findings support hCG as the preferred therapy for post-orchiopexy atrophy due to its effectiveness in restoring testicular volume and perfusion. Starting hormonal treatment 4 to 6 weeks after surgery balances recovery and therapeutic benefits, aiming to improve testicular development and function while reducing risks of early or late initiation.

Testosterone hCG post-Orchiopexy resource constrained

References (15)

  1. 1 Undescended testes: a consensus on management [DOI]
  2. 2 Treatment of Men with Central Hypogonadism: Alternatives for Testosterone Replacement Therapy [DOI]
  3. 3 The role of testosterone, the androgen receptor, and hypothalamic-pituitary–gonadal axis in depression in ageing Men [DOI]
  4. 4 Dose-Dependent Increase in Intratesticular Testosterone by Very Low-Dose Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in Normal Men with Experimental Gonadotropin Deficiency [DOI]
  5. 5 Hormonal therapy for non‐obstructive azoospermia: basic and clinical perspectives [DOI]
  6. 6 Efficacy of Gonadotropin Treatment for Induction of Spermatogenesis in Men With Pathologic Gonadotropin Deficiency: A Meta‐Analysis [DOI]
  7. 7 A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Clinical Trial of Recombinant Human Chorionic Gonadotropin on Muscle Strength and Physical Function and Activity in Older Men with Partial Age-Related Androgen Deficiency [DOI]
  8. 8 Luteinizing hormone receptor mutations in disorders of sexual development and cancer [DOI]
  9. 9 Does HCG treatment induce inflammation-like changes in undescended testes in boys? [DOI]
  10. 10 The volume of unilaterally undescended testis after hCG therapy compared to orchidopexy and combined methods [DOI]
  11. 11 Oxygen consumption in platelets as an adjunct diagnostic method for pediatric mitochondrial disease [DOI]
  12. 12 The Safety of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Monotherapy Among Men With Previous Exogenous Testosterone Use [DOI]
  13. 13 Efficacy and Safety of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Monotherapy for Men With Hypogonadal Symptoms and Normal Testosterone [DOI]
  14. 14 Effect of Combined Low Dose Human Gonadotropic Hormone, Follicle Stimulating Hormone, and Testosterone Therapy (LFT Regimen) Versus Conventional High Dose Human Gonadotropic Hormone and Follicle Stimulating Hormone on Spermatogenesis and Biomarkers in Men With Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism [DOI]
  15. 15 Failure of testosterone replacement therapy to improve symptoms correlates with burden of systemic conditions [DOI]

Cited by 0

No indexed citations yet.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

36

Page views

0

PDF downloads

14

Outbound clicks

0

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.