Frequently Asked Questions

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Austria, Egypt, Switzerland, Italy, Greece and Spain: Prof. Hadidi examines patients and operates in these countries.

1. Is it possible to diagnose hypospadias during pregnancy and is that an indication for abortion?

2. I have already a child with hypospadias. How high are the chances that also the second child will be born with hypospadias?

3. What is the incidence of hypospadias?

4. When should we seek medical advice?

5. Which specialist should we contact? A pediatric surgeon, urologist or plastic surgeon?

6. How can I identify the severity of hypospadias of my child?

7. Is an operation necessary?

8. Will my son become normal after hypospadias-operation?

9. Will he function as a "normal" man later on when he grows up?

10. Should my son receive hormonal treatment before the hypospadias-operation?

11. Should we do chromosomal analysis (tests)?

12. When should the hypospadias-operation be performed?

13. Which techniques are preferred for hypospadias-repair?

14. If the penis is curved, how would it be corrected and is this necessary?

15. How long does my child have to stay in hospital?

16. Does my child has to be bed ridden or can he move around after the hypospadias-operation?

17. How long should the dressing remain on the wound?

18. How long should the catheder remain in penis?

19.  What is meant by "chordee"?
20. What is "Nesbit-Procedure" and when should it be performed?
21. What are the possible complications and how often do they occur?
22. What happens with the sutures and threads after surgery? Do they need to be removed?
23. How long does it take for the hypospadias repair to heal and what are the precautions?
24. When should post operative examinations take place?

25. When should the correction of the foreskin be performed?
26. What are the possibilities and how ?
27. Why should not my son have the foreskin reconstructed at the same operation with the hypospadias correction?
28. Why should not my son have circumcision during the hypospadias operation?
29. What should we take care of after the foreskin operation?

1. Is it possible to diagnose hypospadias during pregnancy and is that an indication for abortion?

Sometimes it is possible to diagnose hypospadias during pregnancy, but usually the diagnosis is only confirmed after birth. There is definitely no indication for abortion because of hypospadias.

2. I have already a child with hypospadias. How high are the chances that also the second child will be born with hypospadias?

Usually hypospadias is sporadic. When one child has a hypospadias does not increase the chances of hypospadias for other children in the family. Rarely there are families where there may be genetic predisposition thats to say, the father, uncle or grandfather had hypospadias and in these rare instances more than one child can be affected.

3. What is the incidence of hypospadias?

One in 125 boys to one in 300 boys has hypospadias.

In the United States a study reported that hypospadias was the most common congenital anomaly among whites. The incidence has been rising during the 1970s and 1980s.

4. When should we seek medical advice?

Because the optimal window for hypospadias-correction is between 3 and 18 month it is ideal to seek the adivce of an experienced specialist during the first 3 month of life.

5. Which specialist should we contact? A pediatric surgeon, urologist or plastic surgeon?

It is not important the speciality of the surgeon, what is more important is that he is interested in hypospadias and has large experience in hypospadias and has good results. In fact some of the world pionieers who have contributed a lot to the field of hypospadias were pediatric surgeons, others were urologists or plastic surgeons.

Ideally, the surgeon dealing with hypospadias (hypospadiologist) should be performing about 50 hypospadias operations per year in order to develop adequate experience and have satisfactory results.

6. How can I identify the severity of hypospadias of my child?

There are several factors that determines the severity of hypospadias. However as a general rule: if the opening is in the glance this is considered mild degree or grade 1. If the opening is in the outer half of the penis this is considered a moderate degree or grade 2. If the opening is in the inner half of the penis or in the scrotum, this is considered severe degree or grade 3. Please see examples below.

In reality the actual position of the meatus and the kind of the technique that is suitable for the child and the degree of curvature can not be accurately decided except in the operating theatre when the child is asleep.

Mild or moderate degrees of hypospadias constitute about 85 % of hypospadias. Severe forms constitute only 15 %.

Distal Hypospadias
immed. after surgery	appr. 7 months after surgery and circumcision	7 months after surgery shortly after circumcision	2 years after surgery

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