24 years of waiting... and the shock at the clinic
The Department of Andrology - Bach Mai Hospital received a 24-year-old male patient coming for examination in a state of anxiety and inferiority because "he has never felt like a man".
Through clinical examination, doctors recorded that the patient did not have a mustache, no pubic hair, small testicles like children, and secondary sexual characteristics were almost undeveloped. The patient said that from adolescence she noticed a difference compared to her peers, but her family and she herself thought it was just "maturity according to constitution" so she did not go for examination.
The diagnosis determined that the patient had secondary sex deficiency – a form of endocrine disorder that prevents the body from producing enough male sex hormones.
According to MSc.BS Nguyen Trung Hieu - Center for Nephrology, Urology and Blood Purification, Bach Mai Hospital, if detected and treated early in puberty, patients have a full chance to develop almost normal male characteristics. Delaying examinations for many years has made the treatment process more complicated and the effectiveness limited.
Standard deviation" puberty – a sign not to be ignored
MSc.BS Nguyen Trung Hieu said that normal puberty in men usually starts around 9–14 years old. After this milestone, if the body has not shown characteristic changes, a specialist examination is needed to rule out endocrine disorders.
Common warning signs include: testicles not growing, penis underdevelopment, no beard and pubic hair growing, voice not being louder, muscles not developing. Some cases also have abnormally tall and thin bodies or large breasts protruding.
Not all cases of late puberty are dangerous, but if it is erectile dysfunction that is not treated promptly, the consequences will last for life," MSc.BS Nguyen Trung Hieu emphasized.
The consequences don't just stop at appearance
Genital disability if detected late not only affects the external body but also leads to many serious consequences:
Risk of infertility: Poor testicle development, no or very little ability to produce sperm.
Early osteoporosis: Lack of male sex hormones reduces bone density, increasing the risk of fractures from a young age.
Psychological effects: Patients are easily self-conscious, insecure, reduced quality of life, and even fall into depression.
These impacts not only affect the individual patient but also lead to many social consequences for marriage and public health.
According to MSc.BS Nguyen Trung Hieu, erectile dysfunction causing puberty delay often originates from two main groups of causes.
The first is the cause in the testicles, including genetic abnormalities (such as Klinefelter syndrome), hidden testicles, testicular damage or complications after the diaphragm.
The second is the cause from the central nervous system, when the pituitary gland or hypothalamus does not secrete enough hormones to stimulate testicle development and production of testosterone.
Identifying the exact cause plays a key role in choosing the appropriate treatment method.
Experts recommend that parents pay attention to and closely monitor the development of their children during puberty. Being shy, avoiding or subjectively believing that "you will grow up" can inadvertently ruin children's chances of effective treatment.
Puberty is a natural physiological process, but abnormal puberty is not something to wait for. Proactive early examination is the best way to protect reproductive health and the future of men.
