Eccentric circummeatal based flap with limited urethral mobilization: An easy technique for distal hypospadias repair

Hypospadias is a common congenital anomaly. Over 300 techniques have been described for repairing hypospadias.

Eccentric circummeatal based flap with combined limited urethral mobilization technique (ECMB-LUM) is a simple procedure to repair distal hypospadias with minimal complication rate. This study presents results of this technique, highlighting surgical pitfalls to achieve the best result.

Medical records of patients with distal hypospadias operated on using the same technique between 1998 and 2011 were reviewed retrospectively. Age at surgery, position of meatus preoperatively and postoperatively, duration of urethral catheterization and hospitalization, early and late complications, previous hypospadias repairs, and secondary surgical interventions were evaluated. In the surgical technique an eccentric circummeatal based flap is outlined. The proximal part of the flap is dissected from the underlying urethra and Buck's fascia. If the flap is not long enough, the distal urethra is mobilized a few millimeters (Figure). The eccentric flap is sutured to the tip of the glans. The glans wings are approximated in the midline. A urethral catheter of 6 Fr or 8 Fr is passed and left in the bulbous urethra or the urinary bladder. Diverged limbs of corpus spongiosum are approximated on the urethra, then, the glans and skin of the penile shaft are sutured.

Of the 171 consecutive patients operated on using the ECMB-LUM technique; 115 had coronal, 47 had subcoronal, and nine had glanular meatus. The mean age at surgery was 4.5 (1-17) years. Patients were hospitalized for 2.2 ± 0.7 days. Mean duration of urethral catheterization was 2.3 ± 0.5 days. All but eight patients had ECBF-LUM as primary repair. There were no early complications such as bleeding, hematoma, and wound infection. All patients voided spontaneously after catheter removal. Late complications were meatal stenosis, urethrocutaneous fistula, meatal regression, and glandular dehiscence (Table). These patients were treated using dilatation, fistula repair, meatoplasty, and secondary repair with the same technique, respectively. Eventually all patients had a vertical slit-like meatus on the tip of a natural looking glans.

The most commonly used distal hypospadias repair techniques are glanular approximation, meatal advancement and glanuloplasty, Koff, Mathieu, Thiersch-Duplay procedure, tubularized incised plate repairs, and modifications of these techniques. Cosmetic and functional results and complication rates of ECMB-LUM technique are comparable with those of the commonly used techniques.