How to Correct Hypospadias

Hypospadias is a condition that affects the urethral opening on the penis. Instead of an opening at the tip of the penis, the opening occurs somewhere else along the urethra. Severe hypospadias requires surgery to correct the malformation to avoid side effects later in life. Learn how hypospadias is corrected in order to understand the procedure and recovery.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Receive the diagnosis of hypospadias from your doctor. Hypospadias can be mild or severe; the right treatment depends on the severity of the disorder. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, locate a urologist in your area who specializes in treating hypospadias. Ask for a referral from your primary care physician or contact your insurance company to find a provider in your network.
2. Understand that if your baby isn't circumcised but has been diagnosed with hypospadias, postpone circumcision of the penis until after the hypospadias is corrected. If surgery is necessary, the extra foreskin is used.
3. Realize that surgery to correct severe hypospadias usually occurs when the infant is between 12 and 18 months of age. Surgery is generally performed under general anesthesia and is an outpatient procedure.
4. Know that before surgery occurs, your doctor takes an extensive medical history, asks questions about the patient's general health and tolerance to pain medication and anesthesia. The surgical procedure should be explained to you; if not, ask any questions that may concern you.
5. Prepare for the surgical procedure by following the orders given by your doctor. Sometime a male hormone is prescribed before surgery to enlarge the penis and to allow more blood flow to the genitals. Severe cases of hypospadias require the urethra to be widened, chordee (when the penis is curved downward upon erection) to be fixed and the outward appearance of the penis altered to look normal. Expect surgery to last between 1 and 3 hours for a severe case of hypospadias. Mild forms of hypospadias simply require the urethral opening to be moved up and the head of the penis to be shaped back to normal. This one step procedure takes approximately 1 hour to perform.
6. Give antibiotics after surgery to avoid infection. Care for the wound as directed by your doctor and schedule follow up appointments to ensure proper healing. Know that surgery to correct hypospadias has a very high success rate.

Tips & Warnings

• Failing to correct hypospadias can cause problems as the child matures. Misdirected urine stream, a curved penis upon erection (negatively affecting sexual intercourse as an adult), fertility issues, the inability to urinate standing up and recurrent urinary infections can all be experienced due to hypospadias. Hypospadias can also cause emotional and psychological damage as well.