Dr Singal with Dr Long & Dr Zaontz

Dr Singal presented the following lectures and papers in the World Congress:

• Buccal inlay graft for failed hypospadias- Dr Singal showed technique of buccal (oral) mucosa graft inlay surgery and its results in failed hypospadias cases.
• Considerations in adult hypospadias repairs- Adult hypospadias are difficult to manage especially if the surgery done in childhood has failed. Dr Singal showed innovative surgery techniques for such adult hypospadias cases for best outcomes.
• Reimagined Byar’s flaps for staged hypospadias repairs- For hypospadias with severe chordee, it is important that the penile curvature gets fully corrected in first stage and then second stage surgery is done for bringing the urethra to the tip of penis. In expert hands the results of two stage surgery for hypospadias with severe chordee is very good. Dr Singal showed finer nuances of surgery to achieve best results to the audience.
• Parental Awareness survey for families with hypospadias: Families of children or adults with hypospadias are often not fully aware of the extent of disease and what it means in the long run. Dr Singal and his team conducted a study of 150 families to understand about their concerns about hypospadias and their knowledge level about the disease/ surgery.

Overall the three-day conference resulted in great mutual exchange of ideas and also helped younger generation of surgeons learn from eminent faculty from all over the world.

Hypospadias remains the most common urological anomaly in boys and more than 1 lakh kids are born in India every year with Hypospadias. Majority of these are mild variety like glanular, coronal, distal penile or midpenile hypospadias. Less than 15% of all hypospadias are moderate to severe variety of hypospadias like proximal penile, penoscrotal or scrotal hypospadias. While very mild hypospadias like glanular or coronal without chordee may be left alone without surgery, all other types of hypospadias or those with chordee require hypospadias correction treatment.

There are more than 100 different types of hypospadias surgery techniques described in medical literature attesting to the fact that none of the techniques are perfect or suitable for all types of hypospadias. The hypospadias specialist surgeon needs to be well acquainted with anatomy and various techniques to decide the type of surgery needed in a particular hypospadias case. Subtle variations in anatomy decide the type of technique needed. Hence the decision for each hypospadias is very individualized.

The common techniques in use for primary hypospadias are TIP urethroplasty (Snodgrass repair), Mathieu repair, Onlay Island flap urethroplasty, Prepucial tube and staged Bracka’s urethroplasty. Each technique of hypospadias surgery has its own advantages and disadvantages and case selection becomes very important.

Case: Boy from Lucknow

Master A.C. was born with proximal penile hypospadias in Lucknow. He was advised surgery after one year of age by the doctors in Lucknow. They consulted various surgeons in Lucknow and Delhi but were not satisfied by the approach. Finally, the boy’s uncle who was a scientist in CSIR sent an email to Hypospadias Foundation with all records and pictures asking for an opinion. We advised a clinical examination and a single stage surgery. The family flew to Mumbai and saw us in MITR Hospital, Kharghar where Hypospadias Foundation is located. The penis size for Master A.C. was very small with a stretched penile length of 2 cm and Glans diameter of 11mm. We advised two injections of Testosterone (male hormone) to induce growth of penis at one month interval. After one month of second injection, the glans size increased to 15.5 mm and penis length to 29mm. At this time, we planned a hypospadias correction surgery. A.C. was admitted the morning of surgery and a single stage urethroplasty was done using Onlay Island Flap technique for which Dr Singal is very renowned. The surgery took 90 minutes and the boy was discharged the next morning after hypospadias surgery. The dressing was removed after 5 days and catheter was removed after 10 days. A.C. passed urine well and at one month follow-up was passing urine in a good stream without any issues. The penis has healed very well with an excellent cosmetic result. The parents were overjoyed and sent an email of thanks after one month from Lucknow. Further follow-ups will be via email and phone calls. Patients from across the globe follow-up with us using electronic medium such as email, whats app and skype.

Hypospadias remains one of the most common urological anomalies across the globe affecting almost 1/150 newborn boys. No nation or economic status or religion is exempt from its occurrence. The art and science of hypospadias treatment has evolved significantly in the last two years with a single stage repair of hypospadias a real possibility in most of the cases. The results of hypospadias surgery are of course better at centres where there are specialist hypospadias surgeons doing dedicated hypospadias treatment in large numbers every year. Even the complications of hypospadias surgeries decrease significantly with increasing experience. This was the aim with which we started Hypospadias Foundation in 2008. Now 6 years later, we are happy to provide excellent outcomes and give happiness to kids and families who travel to India from all over the world.

The Child from Great Britain

Master Narain was noted to have hypospadias as soon as he was born in England. The pediatrician advised the family to meet the pediatric surgeon or pediatric urologist when the child was three months old. Through the NHS system, the family went and met a Pediatric Surgeon who advised hypospadias repair surgery after 1.5-2 years of age.

Mother and father, both UK residents, were worried about delaying the surgery so much as somehow they felt that once the surgery is needed they better get it done at a younger age than a later age. They just couldn’t understand the point of waiting for the surgery which would anyway be required. With this dilemma about the age for hypospadias surgery, they contacted us at Hypospadias Foundation. After a few tele and online consultations they decided to travel to India for Hypospadias repair surgery with us at MITR Hospital in Navi Mumbai, India. We advised surgery between 6 months to one year of age. Finally, when Narain was 9 months old they traveled to India from England and visited us.

On examination, Narain had a distal penile hypospadias without any chordee. The urethral plate was pink and healthy and he seemed suitable for a single stage Hypospadias repair. Parents did not have too many questions and I was very surprised. When I asked, they said that they have read a lot of blogs written by me on hypospadias treatment and were upto date with what their son is going to go through. This was a very happy consultation indeed. Saved me time and energy but still I went through the pre and post hypospadias surgery routine with them explaining to them. They just nodded their heads and posted Narain for surgery one day later and meanwhile we got the blood/ urine tests and pre surgery fitness for anesthesia.

Surgery was done as first case in the morning the following day. Surgery was done under caudal analgesia and sevoflurane anesthesia. Since the urethral plate was good and the hypospadias was not very severe (distal penile hypospadias), we did a Tubularised incised plate urethroplasty also called Snodgrass repair urethroplasty. The surgery took only 75 minutes. Narain tolerated the procedure well and was to his usual playful self in a few hours after surgery. We sent him home by the next morning on usual oral medications for pain and bladder spasms and a mild antibiotic. One week later, the family visited us again in the outpatient clinic for removal of dressing and catheter. Narain passed urine well without any issues and had a good healing operative site at the time of hypospadias dressing removal. Another followup was scheduled at 10 days after catheter & dressing removal. Narain was passing urine in a good straight stream without any difficulty. Also the cosmetic result was excellent. The family was overjoyed and was able to travel back to England within three weeks of surgery. We requested the family to send us a short video of Narain passing urine and a few pictures of his penis at about 6 weeks and 3 months after surgery to confirm that everything has healed without any complication. We received these videos and pictures a week back and were happy to note that there was no complication of the surgery. We expect Narain to do very well and live a normal life after the hypospadias surgery.

About the author:

Dr A.K.Singal is a renowned Pediatric urologist and is considered one of the best hypospadias surgeons in India. He treats more than 100 kids with hypospadias every year at various hospitals in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Mumbai. Lot of kids travel from neighbouring cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Goa and as far as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Calcutta, Delhi, Jaipur, Chennai etc.

He can be contacted by filling up the form here: Contact form Dr A.K.Singal

Hello Dr A.K.Singal,

My feedback from my baby’s operation at Hypospadias Foundation & MITR hospital in Navi Mumbai, Kharghar, sector 21:

When I was told by  my baby’s doctor at the time of birth that he had hypospadias, we were very worried about it as it was the first time I had heard such case. Then I started searching about treatment and could not find any specialist locally in Afghanistan. Then we searched for a hypospadias specialist in India and could find the best pediatric urologist surgeon in Mumbai called Dr. A. K Singal in MITR hospital in Navi Mumbai although, I searched in Delhi and other states. Indeed what all I found it was just from Google net and I was really not sure what is going to be happen. Many questions arose into my mind that how the operation is going to be done? How many days my son would be admitted? And many other questions were there.

Eventually, I got appointment with the MITR hospital via email with Mrs. Emily Paul who was very helpful and then we decided to go India for the treatment and finally reached the mentioned hospital on the 1^st December, 2014. In the same day, Dr. A. K Singal visited my child and he impressed me when he talked about the operation and we decided to operate him after two days. Then on the 3^rd December my baby’s operation was done.
The operation was done in a very professional way and successfully with no issue. Then I realized that I took a really right decision and found the right hypospadias doctor. It was amazing that in the same day my baby did not have any pain and discharged from the hospital but I requested to remain for some more days for betterment of the child. 

We (me and my wife) have very good memories from the Hypospadias Foundation and MITR Hospital especially from Dr A.K.Singal and now we know why he is a renowned Pediatric urologist and one of the best Hypospadias surgeons in India. The staff of Hypospadias Foundation based in MITR Hospital is good and the nurses were really outstanding. I thank them too.

My little angel is doing very well after surgery with no issue and we overcome those all tensions and worries which we had in the past. I really appreciate Dr. A. K Singal and whole MITR team with professional communication and cooperation and your friendly environment.

Considering that our son had hypospadias which can have lot of stigma, we request you to keep his name and identity confidential. We would be happy to interact with parents whose children are suffering from hypospadias any time offline.

Thank you Dr. Singal.

Best Regards,

Mr M.H., Herat, Afghanistan

Case description:

Master F.H.,8 months old child underwent distal penile Hypospadias treatment at our hospital recently (Dec 2014). Father had written to us about a month back expressing a desire to travel for Afghanistan to India for the hypospadias repair surgery. They had sent us pictures of the penis via email and we could explain to them the type of anomaly and the surgery needed for the same. Fortunately, the father took very good and clear pictures as instructed and it was easy for us to understand even without examining the child. Ms Emily Paul and Dr Rajkumar coordinated the OPD appointments and then one fine day the baby was at our hospital in Navi Mumbai. We confirmed the hypospadias to be distal penile hypospadias and did the pre surgery checkup and fitness by a Pediatrician. We took up the baby for surgery on 03/12/2014 and surgery was done using Tubularised Incised plate urethroplasty (TIP repair) also called Snodgrass repair or Snodgrass urethroplasty. Originally described by Dr Warren Snodgrass, the TIP repair is one of the most reliable and common repairs done worldwide for distal and midpenile hypospadias in selected and suitable cases.

The surgery was finished in one hour and F.H. was allowed feeds after 3 hours of surgery. He was at his playful best by evening and we planned to discharge the baby. Parents were very worried about taking him to a hotel and requested to stay in the hospital for another week till the dressing and the catheter were taken out. In normal circumstances, we discharge most of the hypospadias surgery kids by evening of surgery but here understanding the situation we allowed them to stay for a week. Finally the catheter and the dressing were removed in 5 days and the parents took the child to Pune with them. I saw them on 15^th Dec 2014 once again before their final flight back home to Afghanistan from Delhi. He was doing very well and the penis had healed very nice with good cosmetic and functional outcome.

Staff and nurses were very fond of master F.H. as he was a very happy baby and used to come to everyone’s arms easily and used to play with them. He used to be in my lap all the time. All of us here at MITR Hospital and Hypospadias Foundation wish him the very best in life. And we all miss him.

About the Hypospadias Foundation & Dr A.K.Singal

Hypospadias Foundation in Navi Mumbai, India is the world’s only organisation committed and dedicated to treatment and care of children having hypospadias. Over last 6 years children from all over India and from more than 15 countries have benefitted from care at Hypospadias Foundation.

Dr A.K.Singal, Pediatric Urologist and Hypospadias Surgeon is an expert and renowned surgeon for management of children and adults with Hypospadias. Dr Singal and Dr Manish Dubey are close friends and together started Hypospadias Foundation in Nov 2008.

Dr Singal can be contacted by filling up this form: Enquiry form for Hypospadias

Or you can call up Dr Rajkumar (Dr Singal’s assistant) at +919821261448

His clinic timings in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Mumbai are available here:

Clinics and Timings for Dr Singal

Hypospadias repair surgery videos by Dr A.K.Singal:

Hello Dr. Singal,

When we came to know our son is suffering from hypospadias, we being parents were
really worried for him. There were several doubts and fears running in and out through our mind. We were very tensed and concerned regarding his hypospadias repair surgery, overall result and further treatment.
We then visited many doctors in Pune but were unhappy and unsatisfied with their answers and process of treatment, until one day while surfing on internet we read about you and the hypospadias foundation run by you. Thumbs up for the great job you are doing by running this foundation and providing complete awareness among parents.
For first time when you examined our son and the manner you explained the entire
process of surgery and treatment, really raised positive hopes in us. Most of our doubts were cleared in the first meeting itself. We want to thank you from the bottom of our heart for undertaking our son’s surgery not only in positive way but also making it successful in the first stage. Due to your fair treatment and kind support we were able to cope with our son’s surgery and health. We really want all other parents as well whose children are suffering from hypospadias to undergo Hypospdias treatment at Hypospadias Foundation at MITR Hospital, Navi Mumbai and go back home smiling.

As our son is a hypospadias patient, we want to keep his name and identity confidential. We are ready to share our experience and contact details with the parents whose children are suffering from hypospadias any time offline.

Thanks,
Mr. & Mrs. K,

Pune

These letters are priceless to us. As a hypospadias surgeon, I owe it to our team for excellent results and patient happiness. Surgery is often just one of the things which makes successes and miracles happen. It is the larger picture – the dedication, thought process, commitment and most importantly the love which the surgical team can give. I can safely say that beyond the surgeon’s hands and nurses injections there is something else which cures a patient. It is love and faith and it runs both ways. Mr and Mrs K came and saw us three months back and they came with full faith and commitment to get their son better. It is not easy to get a surgery for your young child. It is much more easier to get surgery done for yourself rather than your child. I really wish to express my gratitude to the parents and families who give their little ones in our hands trusting us to do the right thing for their child.

Case summary for Master D.K.

Master D.K. was born with scrotal hypospadias and was advised by the pediatrician to see a pediatric urologist or a pediatric surgeon for Hypospadias repair surgery at 1-2 years of age. After multiple consultations elsewhere, they finally came to see us at MITR Hospital & Hypospadias Foundation in Navi Mumbai. Navi Mumbai is just 2 hour’s drive from Pune so family thought of taking a second opinion from us.

Examination of Master D.K. confirmed severe scrotal hypospadias with mild chordee. I counseled the family regarding the possibility of a single stage repair. I explained to them that our intent would be to repair the hypospadias in one stage but sometime 5-10% of the kids may need a second surgery if something doesn’t heal well after first surgery. D.K underwent hypospadias repair surgery in October 2014 using an Onlay Island Flap Urethroplasty. He recovered from surgery and anesthesia very fast and was walking around and eating normally the next day. Happy with his recovery from Hypospadias surgery, we discharged him the next day and he went home back to Pune the day after surgery. Dressing was removed after 5 days and urinary catheter a total of ten days after surgery. A follow-up visit after 2 weeks showed hypospadias repair site to be healing well and parents and we were both very happy to see. It is now almost two months after surgery and D.K is doing very well. I hope that he continues doing well though he will need follow-ups at three months, one year then at 5, 10,15 years of age as some minor issues can crop up later in some cases of severe hypospadias.

As of now, it is time to rejoice and I can also breathe a sigh of relief. And to top up the happiness, I got this letter from the parents, which makes all the hard work so much worthwhile. Such letters make my work a pleasure and operation theatre a playground. My best wishes to the family for a happy future for the kid.

About the Author:

Dr A.K.Singal is a renowned Pediatric urologist and one of the best Hypospadias surgeons in India. He is the founder of Hypospadias Foundation based in MITR Hospital, Navi Mumbai and regularly does hypospadias repair surgeries in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai.

To contact Dr Singal- pls fill up this form- Contact form

Clinics and timings of Dr Singal

Videos of Hypospadias Surgery by Dr A.K.Singal