# Urethral Mobilisation and Glanuloplasty Technique for Primary and Second-Stage Repair of Hypospadias: A Single Hospital Experience

## TL;DR

This paper evaluates a modified surgical technique for repairing hypospadias, showing lower complication rates and shorter catheterization times.

## Contribution

The study introduces urethral mobilisation and glanuloplasty in the second stage of proximal hypospadias repair, demonstrating improved outcomes.

## Key findings

- The proximal hypospadias group had a 11.4% complication rate, significantly lower than typical two-stage operations.
- Operative time and patient age were significant factors influencing complication rates.
- All patients achieved good cosmetic outcomes with short catheterization durations.

## Abstract

Background

Over the years, the technique used to correct hypospadias has undergone several modifications to improve outcomes and reduce complication rates. In this study, a modification has been made to the second stage of the two-stage repair of proximal hypospadias. This modification utilises urethral mobilisation and glanuloplasty, traditionally used to repair distal hypospadias, in the second stage of repair of proximal hypospadias. This study aims to assess the implications of this modification on the outcomes in addition to adding to the pre-existing literature on the outcomes of urethral mobilisation and glanuloplasty in the repair of distal hypospadias.

Methodology

A prospective study was conducted at Salmaniya Medical Complex in Bahrain between January 2016 and December 2021. All patients with either proximal or distal hypospadias who underwent a surgical repair using the urethral mobilisation and glanuloplasty technique were included. The following cases were excluded: patients with proximal hypospadias who did not undergo a first-stage repair, those with a hypoplastic urethra, and those aged 14 years or more.

Results

The mean operative time for the proximal hypospadias group was 78 minutes, while it was 62 minutes in the distal hypospadias group. Furthermore, the catheter remained in situ for a mean of three days postoperatively in the proximal hypospadias group. Overall, four of 35 patients (11.4%) experienced complications in the proximal hypospadias group. Of these, there were two (5.7%) cases of meatal stenosis, two (5.7%) cases of wound dehiscence, and no cases of diverticula or urethrocutaneous fistulas. Meanwhile, in the distal hypospadias group, one of 117 patients (0.9%) experienced a complication; the complication was meatal stenosis. there was a significant correlation between the age of patients and the complication rate (p = 0.06). The operative time was also found to be a significant factor influencing the occurrence of complications. The follow-up duration ranged between five months and 12 months. All patients had good cosmetic outcomes.

Conclusions

This study found that urethral mobilisation and glanuloplasty for the second-stage repair of proximal hypospadias resulted in lower complications than the traditional two-stage operation and a short duration of urinary catheterisation. There is a need to conduct studies with longer follow-up durations and objective measures of function to provide a better comparison between the different techniques used.