What are the characteristics of hypospadias?

  Hypospadias is of Greek origin, formed by combining the words underneath and splitting. It means that the urethra is so underdeveloped that it opens at the lower end of its normal position (center of the tip of the glans), anywhere on the ventral side of the penis. According to the Roman physician Vine’s, this urethral anomaly was first described and named by Grimm’s as far back as the 2nd century AD.  In many countries, there is a history of genital worship, and in Japan, an annual fertility festival is held with much excitement. In many works of art, the male penis is the subject of representation, and in most cases, a long, thick, upturned penis is considered an expression of masculinity. There are four basic anatomical features of hypospadias, including an abnormal opening of the urethra, a ventral flexion deformity of the penis, a normal dorsal prepuce and a lack of ventral prepuce, and hypospadias.  These features run counter to the traditional aesthetics of the external genitalia and, therefore, patients with hypospadias suffer from both psychosexual and psychosocial effects in addition to the pain caused by the disease itself.  Patients with untreated hypospadias, especially those with severe hypospadias, are severely affected by ejaculation due to the low position of the urethral opening, as well as the inability of the penis to penetrate the vagina smoothly during sex due to the downward curvature of the penis, and the presence of the scar band on the ventral side of the urethra, which also causes significant pain during erection. All these factors limit the patient’s sexual ability and quality of sexual life, causing distress to the patient himself and his family. Surgical orthodontic treatment is the only way to change this embarrassing situation. The orthodontic treatment consists of two steps, one is the correction of painful erection; the other is the reconstruction of the urethra so that the urethra opens near the glans and maintains an upright urinary position. In addition, to avoid the development of low self-esteem and a shy personality, which may affect the patient’s psychological health, it is best to perform the surgery at an early age.  There are more than 300 surgical procedures for hypospadias reported in published journals, and generations of surgeons have worked hard to achieve very good results in the surgical treatment of hypospadias, so that there is no significant difference in appearance and function between patients and normal males. There is no difference.  According to a survey, the psychosexual development of patients with well-treated hypospadias still lags behind that of normal men. Despite a relatively satisfactory quality of sexual life, patients had a significantly later sexual debut and a significantly smaller number of sexual partners than normal men. At the level of mental health, patients with hypospadias tend to appear shy and isolated at an early age, and grow up with more depression and anxiety than normal. Most patients feel that they are not masculine enough and are ashamed to show their penis in front of others or in public (e.g., public bathrooms, toilets, etc.) Forty-one percent of patients surveyed have experienced comments from others about the appearance of their external genitalia, so although most patients are satisfied with the degree of improvement in penile appearance, they still want to have a penis that looks completely indistinguishable from that of normal men.  Lack of adequate knowledge and communication about the disease is a common problem faced by patients with hypospadias. Questions that many parents of children or adult patients commonly ask include what hypospadias is, the incidence of the condition, how it occurs, and its impact on fertility. Many doctors neglect to provide professional guidance and explanation during the treatment process, and many patients with hypospadias do not even know why they need surgery. Lack of knowledge about the disease and shyness contribute to the lack of communication among patients with hypospadias. Nearly half of the patients have never mentioned their disease to others and are reluctant to let others know that they have had surgery. In fact, in addition to getting the necessary information from the doctor, communication between the group of patients with hypospadias can be a huge help in their psychosexual and psychosocial normalization. From a psychological point of view, the communication of a similar group plays a crucial role in psychosocial maturation.  In addition to the impact on the patient himself, hypospadias also has a huge impact on the patient’s family. Many parents may feel guilty about their affected child and worry about the quality of life of the affected child in the future. Adult patients worry about whether the disease will be inherited. Most cases of hypospadias are disseminated, but it has a clear genetic predisposition, with a significantly higher incidence in blood relatives than in the general population. Unfortunately, the current level of prenatal diagnosis does not provide a clear picture of whether a fetus has hypospadias. It is also difficult for clinicians to give a prediction of the incidence of hypospadias in a patient’s offspring.  The incidence of hypospadias has been gradually increasing in recent years, and in the process of treating patients, clinicians need to provide reasonable psychological guidance and long-term follow-up to patients and their families, in addition to continuously improving their technical skills, in order to achieve a satisfactory physical and psychological recovery.