Congenital webbed penis: Surgical outcomes of a simplified technique

Webbed penis is a cause of concealed penis. It reflects abnormal attachment of the scrotal skin to different ventral penile shaft levels, possibly due to abnormal scrotal dartos insertion. Different techniques are available for correction of congenital webbed penis. However, there is no single one versatile for correction of different grades.

To evaluate the surgical outcome of penile degloving, excision of abnormal dartos fascia with penoscrotal fixation sutures to correct different grades of congenital webbed penis.

This prospective study was conducted on boys with congenital webbed penis. Thorough clinical examination to determine the degree of webbed penis and associated anomalies were done. A technical modification of previously described technique by Frenkl et al. 2004 (22) was used. The principles include; complete penile degloving with excision of all abnormal scrotal dartos attached to the penile shaft, creation of a well-defined penoscrotal angle by penoscrotal fixation sutures and the short ventral skin was compensated from the prepuce with circumcision. Assessments of surgical outcomes and parents' satisfaction were done during follow up visits.

This study included 107 boys. The median age was 9 (range, 6-40) months, and the median operative time was 55 (range, 50-65) min. Five patients (4.7%) developed self-limited postoperative penile edema, two (1.9%) developed wound infections, and two (1.9%) had a self-limited scrotal hematoma. The median follow-up period was 19 months. At the 6 months follow-up, we had two patients with persistent mild grade I webs, with a success rate of 98.13%. Parental satisfaction was obtained for all patients.

Currently, there is no current single technique suitable for the correction of all grades of webbed penis. In this study, we presented a technical modification of previously described technique by Frenkl et al. 2004 (9), this modified technique is versatile for correction of different grades of congenital webbed penis without leaving a scar at the penoscrotal angle. But, absence of a comparative group is considered a limitation; however, the versatility of this technique overcomes this limitation.

This described technique is simple and feasible. It could correct all types of congenital webbed penis. Short term outcome showed good cosmetic and functional results with parental satisfaction.