Surgery Steps:

Marking of the degloving incision, a crucial step in surgery for distal hypospadias and penile torsion, commenced the procedure. Local anesthesia was meticulously infiltrated at the marked incision site to ensure patient comfort. The surgical process proceeded with complete degloving and assessment of chordee, revealing a 30-degree chordee. Chordee correction was expertly performed through Tunica albuginea plication at 12 o’clock on the dorsal side, resulting in the successful elimination of chordee. Urethroplasty commenced with precise incision of the urethral plate in the midline, followed by meticulous suturing over a 7Fr Infant feeding tube with 6-0 PDS continuous sutures. Additional measures included the harvesting of a Dartos flap for extra coverage over the urethroplasty, secured with 6-0 PDS sutures. Penoscrotal web correction was also addressed, with excess skin excised and meticulously sutured using 5-0 vicryl rapide. To address penile torsion, skin flaps were rotated and adjusted, ensuring optimal alignment, and meticulously sutured all around using 5-0 vicryl rapide. Postoperative care included a 7-day period with dressing and catheter in situ, followed by their removal to facilitate the patient’s recovery.

Results

The Final result was very gratifying with a straight penis without any torsion. The child was passing urine in good stream in straight axis without any discomfort or pain.

About Hypospadias repair and penile torsion

Penile torsion is a condition wherein the penis is rotated or twisted on its axis. The penile torsion is more commonly to the left. Many a time penile torsion may not be detected till a circumcision is planned or foreskin is retracted.

Penile torsion may be associated with hypospadias and/or chordee (penile curvature). With hypospadias, penile torsion is mostly associated with distal penile cases.

Based on the degree of glanular rotation, penile torsion can be classified as mild, moderate, and severe. It is mild if its less than 45 degree, moderate if it’s between 45-90 degree and severe if more than 90 degree.

Penile torsion in majority of cases (>85%) is between 10 to 20 degree. If it is a moderate or severe degree of torsion, urine stream may be deviated to one side.

Surgical intervention is not always required in isolated penile torsion. The indications for surgical correction are cosmetic, functional, or sexual. When penile torsion is associated with hypospadias, it should be corrected along with Hypospadias repair or urethroplasty at the same time.

About Hypospadias Foundation

Hypospadias foundation is a centre which provides personalized and best quality care for children and adults with hypospadias. It is one of the best hospital centres in India and world for surgical treatment for hypospadias in adults and children.  Our dedication in the field of hypospadias has helped us achieve excellent outcomes in these patients. We treat children and adults not only from various parts of India but also from more than 25 countries all over the world. Hypospadias foundation is located at MITR hospital in Kharghar, Navi-Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Every year more than 200 surgeries for hypospadias are performed at MITR hospital and Hypospadias Foundation

Contact us:

For appointment kindly contact us at the contact details given below.

• MITR hospital & Hypospadias Foundation, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, India
• MITR Clinic: C1/8 Ground floor, Sector-2, VashiCall

Call for appointments: +91-2227743558/ 27744229/ 39/69 and +919324180553.

Or you can fill up this form- Contact form for Dr Singal

Fill up contact form: https://www.hypospadiasfoundation.com/contact/

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.

Dr A.K.Singal, Pediatric Urologist India

Well coming back to the point- One of the most common complications of hypospadias surgery is Urethral Fistula formation. Having a complication such as fistula is not the end of the road. If the family has faith and the surgeon is experienced, urethral fistula can be managed easily with a minor second surgery in most of the cases.

I wish to share one story sent by the parents on an email to us and without any changes. The family came to us from Pune to Navi Mumbai for hypospadias treatment. Here we go:

It was indeed the happiest day of our lives when we welcomed our little bundle of joy; but soon after our son was born, the paediatrician informed us the baby is having a condition called Hypospadias with chordee albeit the degree of both the conditions was really minor, yet requiring surgery. The term Hypospadias was unheard of until then by us as well as seniors in the family. It was so devastating for us to know that the little one is already scheduled for the surgery – especially on such delicate place – before even he is a month old. Although the surgery was never life threatening and was elective in nature, as parents we were extremely nervous and anxious. Like every anxious parent, we too googled about the condition – which helped us understand better about hypospadias – before taking the next step of seeing the surgeon. Here in Pune, we did meet at least 2-3 paediatric surgeons (not the urologists or who specialise in hypospadias surgery). A senior doctor suggested 2 surgeries even for this minor hypospadias. Later we met 2-3 more doctors who suggested various methods be it keeping baby hospitalised for 7 to 10 days with medicines administered through IV lines or keeping the baby open after catheterization plus keeping his legs tied to each other in order to avoid dislodgement of catheter when he moves his legs; not to mention we were extremely petrified after meeting all these doctors as they were not at all empathetic not cordial. Not unexpectedly we were not convinced with any of the doctors as through google we already had understood that the condition can be treated as a day care surgery and babies are managed on oral medicines and in double diapers. Here, no doctor was talking about diaper and taking the baby home next day if not the same day. With due to respect to these doctors, we didn’t want to go ahead with the doctor with whom we were not comfortable with whatever little knowledge we have had gathered on this subject. The question of finding the right doctor was still there. Again, while googling we could get to know that there could be doctors who specialise as paediatric urologists and have vast experience of treating the babies / kids with hypospadias. Thanks to google and age of internet we found Dr. A.K. Singal.

The day we met Dr. Singal:

By the time we met Dr. Singal, our son was already 5 months old. After meeting Dr. Singal we realised why things didn’t move ahead with the previous doctors. Meeting Dr. Singal was so up to the mark as he explained the condition in detail, what he will be doing in the operation theatre and how the baby will be managed post-surgery. He was not only empathetic but also cordial and could understand what exactly the parents must be going through when their little ones must go through the surgery at very young age. His attitude was very positive. We had met the doctor we were looking for. Needless to say, we were so convinced and decided to go ahead with the surgery by Dr. AK Singal. He confirmed that both the defects would be covered in one surgery and the chances of any complications could be considered up to 2-3%. The age he suggested for the surgery was between 6 to 9 months. We took our own time to decide on the date of surgery and scheduled it when he was 14 months old. In the meanwhile, we met Dr. Singal twice with the doubts that we had. Each time he was very cordial in explaining the doubts in detail.

On the day of Surgery:

It was finally the day of the surgery. Nevertheless, we knew that the surgery is going to be for baby’s own good, yet our hearts were in the mouth. The doctor, as well the staff are so good that they would cater to every alarm by an extra-anxious and sensitive parent like me. The surgery went well, and the baby was brought back to the room. He was sleeping most of the day but when he opened his eyes I missed my heartbeat in the anticipation that he, now, would feel pain and the soreness; but to our surprise, he did not have any post-surgical pain on that day and any following day thereafter till the wound was healing. He was at his playful best by the next morning of surgery. He was kept in double diapers i.e. a hole was made in the inner diaper through which catheter was brought out and left to drain in the outer diaper. This method provides a cushion to the operated site, avoids catheter getting pulled accidently and makes it easy for parents to carry the child. Doctor suggested us to go home the next day, but we decided to continue for one more day for the betterment of the child. The nurses were so attentive and very cordial. After removal of the dressing and catheter, unfortunately our son caught the infection at the operated site which resulted in an extremely tiny fistula, which could not be spotted unless seen with the extreme care. This fistula was so tiny that the urine would come out from it in a drop or two. Later, as he was growing the urine output from the fistula grew to multiple drops.

Next appointments with the doctor:

Despite our son developed the fistula, our faith in the doctor never faded away as we were sure that doctor must have done his job with 100% care, and it was our and our baby’s fate to have the complication. The doctor never rushed and pushed us for the second surgery. He was hopeful that this tiny fistula can be healed on its own over the course of time; but the misfortune may have it, the fistula never healed, and worsened with the age by the end of year 2018. We had no choice but to put him through yet another surgery. This time as well the same protocols were followed and now our son is doing good after relatively minor second surgery.

Notes for the parents:

• Please do your research when your little one requires any kind of surgery.
• Have your questions ready so that you don’t miss any of them while you see the doctor
• Trust your vibes. Don’t go ahead with the doctor unless you’re 100% convinced.
• Get all your doubts cleared before you schedule your little one for the surgery
• Take a note of your baby’s food habits and arrange for them well in advance, especially if you are an intercity / interstate / international patient. Carry sufficient (or maybe surplus) supplies during this crucial time as the baby / child can be cranky due to change in schedule and nonetheless due to procedure.
• Carry his / her favourite toys, as that can sooth them.
• Engage them with cartoon videos
• Most importantly, however low and stressed you feel, never show baby /child your emotions and keep the spirit high. This is a tough time which too shall pass, just hang in there.
• Follow medicine schedule very promptly. Be on top of the pain. Be very punctual when to comes to medicine schedule.
• Be vigilant but don’t panic, call the hospital if you are not sure what to do?

Hope this story helped the families out there in some way. The lessons from the story can help both the surgeon and the family in having faith in the worst of times.

Take care and god bless.

Dr Singal

Hypospadias is the most common urological anomaly (birth defect) seen in newborn babies worldwide. It is mostly diagnosed soon after the baby is born when the opening of for urine is seen to be on underside of penis, the foreskin (prepuce) is incomplete on the underside and there may be a bend in the penis (chordee). Very rarely, if the hypospadias is very mild, it can be missed on neonatal examination by even a pediatrician.

Lot of countries and religions practice and advocate newborn circumcision in all male babies but whenever hypospadias is diagnosed in newborn age, circumcision should not be done. During circumcision, the prepuce is cut off and a very vital tissue which is required for hypospadias repair surgery is lost. Prepuce or its layers are used for anatomical hypospadias correction surgery. In a circumcised boy, hypospadias repair becomes difficult and complication rate of hypospadias surgery is little higher.

Master K.Hadriel.Ileunga was born in Congo (Africa) in a small city. His doctor did not recognize at birth that he had a distal penile hypospadias. He underwent a circumcision in the first few days of life by a general practitioner doctor. Later his parents and doctors realized that Hadriel had a distal penile hypospadias. As he grew up in Congo (Africa) his parents worried about his hypospadias. They visited a few doctors in Congo but there was no pediatric urologist available in Congo who could do a hypospadias repair after circumcision. At this time, they learnt about Hypospadias Foundation in Navi Mumbai, India and sent an email to come and get treated under Dr A.K.Singal’s care, one of the most renowned pediatric urologists and the best Hypospadias Surgeon in India.

Finally in first week of Jan 2015, the family met Dr Singal in Navi Mumbai. On examination, Hadriel had a distal penile hypospadias without chordee. There was no prepuce as he had undergone a circumcision in newborn age. After discussing with the parents, Hadriel was taken up for Hypospadias repair surgery on 16 Jan 2015. The surgery was done using Tubularised incised plate urethroplasty – also called Snodgrass urethroplasty. The whole urethroplasty was completed in one stage. The child was discharged from hospital the next day and the hypospadias dressing was removed after 5 days. The urethral catheter was removed after one week of surgery. Hadriel passed urine in very good stream without any difficulty. After a final follow-up two week after surgery, Hadriel has gone back to Africa- his country Congo and family is very happy. Fortunately, he had an excellent result of hypospadias repair surgery even after a neonatal circumcision.

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