Does my son have an undescended testicle?

Q: My son is eight months old and sometimes I feel that one of his testicles is not there in the scrotum. At other times, they are present on both sides. For the last two days, he is suffering from cold and cough, and one of his testicles is not there in the scrotum. His paediatrician said that it is a retractile problem. I want to know if it is that or he has undescended testis. What is the treatment for it?

A:It is likely that these are retractile testes. The difference between the two is that retractile testicles can be brought down to the bottom of the scrotum, but true undescended testicles cannot be. The former do not require treatmen,t whereas undescended testes require an operation at around the age of one year.