Has your son had hypospadias? Have you had it yourself? Or have you known another male with it?
My son has just been diagnosed with mild hypospadias by a pediatrician. We are due to see a pediatric urologist this week to confirm and discuss next steps. Having done my usual research on Google, it seems pretty clear to me that this is an accurate diagnosis. He looks exactly like the textbook pictures. But it’s definitely a mild case. So mild, in fact, that it didn’t get caught until just last week, and he is already 4 1/2 years old, even though, according to the Internets, this is usually diagnosed shortly after birth. However, we didn’t have him circumcised, so that may have hidden it somewhat.
We (or any of his doctors, apparently) didn’t even think to check his penis that closely prior to last week, except that we’ve recently noticed a pattern of him getting irritation and redness, along with occasional stretches of a few days where he would have issues with wetting himself (which for a young boy is hardly unusual). So, we finally took him into the pediatrician to get him checked out. Hence the new diagnosis.
I am curious what others’ experiences are with this condition. Mostly, I would like to read people’s personal stories. Stuff I can’t get from the doctor. Was there surgery to correct it? How about after surgery? What was it like? Were there any complications? I am, of course, concerned about after care with a catheter and bag. I want my little boy to be as comfortable as possible, if we do go the route of surgery.
As is typical on the Internet, there is some disagreement over whether it’s necessary to surgically correct a mild case. Surgery has its own risks. But our son has been resistant to learn to pee standing up, which could possibly stem from the fact that the stream is difficult to control. And his skin gets irritated under the foreskin, plus he has had some adhesions. Now that we know better how to keep the area clean – and to avoid soaps – he probably won’t have those issues as often… but how do you convince a boy to keep on top of it? Furthermore, we wonder about the social/psychological issues of not looking totally normal, having to pee sitting down or struggling to pee standing up, etc.
According to this article “Hypospadias occurs in approximately 1 in every 250 male births in the United States.” That seems like a lot of cases out there! So I’m hoping that someone will let us know we’re not alone. shameless plea
I had a mild case when i was very small. I had surgical correction at the age of two. It Left me with scar tissue in several places on my penis. According to my mother, I was a miserable little bastard for a couple of weeks while it healed. If you are going to get it corrected, do it sooner rather than later.
Both my son and I have had surgery to correct hypospadias. One thing I can say from personal experience: the earlier the better! We had identical cases, with the urethra terminating just below the base of the glans. Mine was repaired at age 13, my son’s at 7 months. My son’s recovery was brief and uneventful. After the first couple of days he didn’t seem to notice. It helped tremendously that he had a very short catheter that drained directly into his diaper. Cosmetically everything looks great! There is a small scar along the bottom of the gland where the urethra was extended, and along the area below the base of the glans there is some discoloration due to the use of foreskin in that area. Neither of these will be noticeable when he gets older. My own repair is significantly less well-executed and had a complication, but the women who have been told about the repair have never had any idea.
My recovery at 13 was more problematic. It didn’t help that I react poorly to opiates and so had to rely on tylenol. The bag was a hassle, but the most significant issue was ensuring that nothing pulled the catheter. There was a stitch through the glans to hold the catheter in, and any pressure was excruciating. Put the pets outside; dogs will get tangled in the catheter by accident, cats on purpose. Ask me how I know. Erections were also an issue. Even with stitches and a tube in my penis erections were a daily occurrence. I imagine that your son will have few or no issues there given his age.
Any competent specialist should be able to address all the questions you listed. I can relate my experiences, but you need to talk to physicians. My repair recovery was miserable, but I would do it again without question. I don’t know the usual recommendation for a case like your son’s, but if it is impacting his ability to function please start making appointments. Also, please don’t underestimate the psychological impact of looking different. I was very self-conscious about my hypospadias. In fact, I demanded the repair in anticipation of group showers in gym class.
I’m on my phone, so I will end here even though I have probably missed a question or two. I will post more if anyone is interested or has a specific question.
Thanks for the insights. (Sorry about the NSFW link.)
After meeting with the urologist, it turns out that while our son does have mild hypospadias the more concerning issue is chordee (downward curve of the penis). The doc has recommended surgery to correct the curve, but probably not to correct the hypospadias – unless when he tests it during surgery the stream is really out of whack. Apparently, our son’s hypospadias won’t be very noticeable as he gets older (unless you look really closely) but he will appreciate the chordee correction when he gets to be a teenager! In his case, just getting rid of the curve should also help with peeing while standing up.
So… looks like surgery after all, but an out-patient procedure (about an hour and a half of surgery), no catheter needed, and shorter healing time than we were afraid of. Phew!
Stahl, I cringe to think about the pet entanglements. Ouch!
Hi! I hope you are doin fine. I have a 7 month old sked for surgery this month. I’m still not at peace with the thought that he is going to be under the knife. As someone who has been there, i would like to know from you if is it really worth it to have the surgery. I want to know too if surgeries like this would be troublesome when it comes to his sexual life later on his adult life. Do you experience any pain now as an adult? Did you become prone to infections? I am relieved somehow that i knew someone who underwent this kind of experience and eventually had a kid. I hope you can give me some light on this. Thank you in advance and Godbless.