How to treat pediatric hypospadias

  A boy who urinates downward instead of forward is considered to have abnormal urination. Hypospadias is a type of urinary abnormality that should be taken seriously by parents. Hypospadias, or abnormal opening of the urethra, is a common congenital malformation of penile development in children, with an incidence of about 8 per 1,000 in male newborns. In addition to affecting the normal life of the child, it can also cause great psychological trauma to him. The development of hypospadias is the result of multiple factors, related to the level of estrogen and androgen during the mother’s pregnancy, and is hereditary, with a certain tendency of family development.  In children with hypospadias, the opening of the urethra is at different locations from the ventral side of the penis to the perineum of the scrotum. In children with hypospadias, the opening of the urethra is forward (i.e., head of the penis), although it does not prevent standing to urinate, the penis has an abnormal shape and the urinary line is slanted downward. And can be accompanied by pain and sexual life difficulties. Parents should pay more attention to their children when they are young, and strive for early detection and early treatment.  Once the diagnosis of hypospadias is confirmed, surgery should be given at the right time to correct the downward curvature of the penis so that the opening of the urethra is as close to the normal position as possible, so that the child can stand to urinate and have the ability to reproduce as an adult. The surgery should be performed in a hospital with a specialty in pediatric surgery.  In recent years, the surgical treatment of this disease has made great progress, and the staged surgery used in the past has been replaced by a one-stage operation, which not only greatly reduces the pain of the child, but also places more emphasis on the appearance and function of the penis as close to normal as possible. With regard to the age of surgery, it is now generally accepted that it should be done before school age, or earlier to reduce the psychological trauma of the child. In general, children around the age of half a year can meet the basic requirements to complete the surgical repair. In cases of short-segment hypospadias and without hypospadias, the surgery can also be done earlier. In cases of combined penile dysplasia, which is often associated with endocrine defects, appropriate tests and hormone therapy should be performed before surgery is performed after the penis has enlarged. Generally speaking, most children with hypospadias can achieve satisfactory results after surgical correction, and as long as the testicles function normally, they will be able to have children in the future.