undescended testicle surgery

Question
We have a 6 yr old mini yorkie with 1 undescended testicle. the vet wants to remove it and also neuter him. We are very worried about him having major surgery with anesthesia since he has problems with his trachea. What is the average mortality from this surgery? we also read where the testicle might not even be found or that it isn't even present anymore. Is there a way to detect it without surgery? Also we love our dog's personality! He is so entertaining. Will neutering change his personality?

Answer
Hello!

Yorkshire terriers are one of the breeds that are significantly at high risk for having this condition also referred as cryptorchidism. It would have been a good idea to do the surgery and neutering also when he was younger. In dogs with retained testes, the risk of testicular neoplasia is increased, it is thought to be 10 times greater in cyptorchid than normal dogs, therefore it should be taking care of.

Castration is a must, surgical placement of a retained testis into the scrotum is considered unethical.

Under normal circumstances, this surgery is not considered a high risk life-threatening surgery. But since you are having problems with the trachea (I can't really make any more comments on that, since I don't know what is the problem you have with his trachea), it may be riskier than general. But your veterinarian is the one who will decide on the ups and downs of this surgery, and make sure there are no risks or  complications.

About the testicle; if it is retained inguinally, it may often be palpable. If it is abdominal, it is difficult to palpate or identify by radiology. But it can be imaged with ultrasound. Anyway, it should be there in both ways, and it will be seen during surgery, don't worry about that.

Neutering may change the personality of a dog, but it is not a must. I don't think that the way he is as entertaining will change. Generally the behaviours regarding the hormone testosterone are the ones showing differences. For example, on a very aggressive dog, neutering may calm him down.

I hope this was helpful. Please contact me if you have further questions.

Kind Regards,
Caglar Kondu Erkip, DVM