Research in Medicine

Background: Inguinal hernia and symptomatic genital diseases are common surgical problem. Late  diagnosis and treatment of these abnormalities can lead to irreversible complications such as intestinal strangulation, infertility and psychosomatic problems. Most of these disorders can be diagnosed during childhood period.

Materials and methods: As a cross-sectional study, 3205 elementary school boy students have been  examined.

Results: Abnormalities were detected in 213 children (6.6%). 78(2.4%) had inguinal hernia, 28(0.9%) had  hydrocele, 75(2) hadundescended testis and 25(0.8%) had hypospadiasis. Meanwhile, two cases of  epispadiasis, one case of varicocele and three cases of micropenis were also reported. Ambiguous genitalia and apenia were not seen in our subjects. Most of the parents were not alert about their children's anomalies.

Conclusion: According to the high incidence of penoscrotal anomalies and low public knowledge, educational and screening programs are recommended.