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Oregon Health & Sciences University was sued by the family of a boy who lost his testicles during surgery.

(Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)

A Portland jury awarded no money Thursday to the parents of a little boy who lost his testicles during a surgery at Oregon Health & Science University.

Jurors deliberated for about six hours after six days of trial before siding with OHSU -- saying surgeons didn't lack the necessary permission to operate using what his parents claimed was an unpermitted technique on the boy.

The boy's parents had sought $1.4 million to pay for medical expenses, including the twice-monthly testosterone injections he will need starting at age 11 for the rest of his life. The parents also sought the money for what his father described as the awkward moments his son would likely encounter as he grows up -- “for how his son would feel in the locker room, or with a girl,” said the parents’ attorney, Richard A. Lane.

The boy’s parents left the Multnomah County courthouse holding hands. His mother wiped away tears.

The Oregonian isn’t identifying the parents or the boy to protect his privacy.

The boy was 11 months old at the time of the 2009 surgery. He is now 5 and in kindergarten.

A month before the surgery, the boy’s father had signed a written consent form for surgeons to relocate the boy’s undescended testicles using a specific technique that would require two surgeries. OHSU surgeons attempted to relocate the testicles using a technique that required just one surgery -- its attorney argued because it was in the best interests of the boy.

The surgeons had written consent only to perform the technique that would require two surgeries.

After researching the issue extensively, the boy’s parents believed the two-surgery procedure would create the smallest risk of losing his testicles -- and that’s why they gave permission to surgeons only to perform the first stage of the two-stage process, said their attorney.

“They wanted to get it done right," Lane said. "They didn’t want it to be done quick. But OHSU said they knew better. And even now they’re not listening to what the parents wanted for their son.”

Lane continued, "This verdict is as much about (the boy) as it is about every other patient at OHSU."

But OHSU attorney Nikola Jones argued that doctors received the couple’s verbal consent to use the technique that was in the best interests of the boy. And that technique could only be known once surgeons began operating and assessed the location of the testicles.

Jones faulted an untrained resident for failing to properly fill out the written informed consent form to reflect the possibility that doctors might try to relocate the boy’s testicles in one surgery.

The loss of the boy's testicles was a "very unfortunate incident that resulted from the inherent risks of surgery," Jones said.

Studies have found that 2 to 6 percent of boys are born with undescended testicles. Often the testicles descend on their own over time, but sometimes they require surgery to move to the scrotum. Among other reasons, the surgery is performed to lessen the chances of cancer later in life.

The boy at the center of this case was born with Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome. Boys with this rare condition are more likely to have undescended testicles. The condition also is often characterized by lower IQs and delays in speaking, among other challenges. One study found that all adult males with the syndrome were infertile.

Jurors were asked to answer two questions. In respect to a claim that surgeons committed "battery" against the boy, "Did OHSU perform a procedure on (the boy) without consent?" Jurors 9-3 answered "no."

Jurors also were asked, "Did OHSU fail to obtain informed consent to the procedure?" Jurors 10-2 answered no.

-- Aimee Green