The Revised PENIS Score and proposal of the PACKAGE Checklist: a meta-epidemiologic study on penile amputation and...

Penile amputation causes severe physical and psychosocial distress. Microsurgical implementation in penile replantation is presumed to be superior to surgical repair. This assumption has been difficult to verify.

The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to produce an updated review of penile replantation, substantiated by the largest sample size to date; (2) to appraise the comparative value of the novel PENIS Score and propose the PACKAGE Checklist, a guide for standardization of future case reports and reviews; and (3) to improve confusing terminology and recommend the standardization of vocabulary.

A literature review assessed 432 full-text case reports in 20 languages and identified 123 microsurgical and 40 surgical cases of penile replantation. The novel PENIS Score stratified penile amputations based on 5 criteria: position along the shaft, extension through the penis, neurovascular repair, ischemia time and type, and severed edge condition and contamination. For the outcome measurements, a Kendall tau coefficient evaluated the association between each PENIS criterion for short-term postoperative complications and 3 outcome measures: erection, urination, and sensation.

Less than half of surgical reports on penile replantation are sufficiently detailed to complete all PENIS Score criteria. The viability of microsurgical and surgical replantation was equivalent at 92% and 94%, respectively. A statistically significant correlation was found between microsurgical repair and the return of sensation but not with nerve repair. Return of sensation with nerve repair was 51%, and microsurgical replantation without nerve repair was 42%; both were significantly higher than the 14% for surgical replantation. Preservation of a skin bridge was associated with a 40% reduction in severe postoperative complications.

Microsurgical replantation is superior in return of sensation, with or without nerve repair. Implementing the PACKAGE Checklist and PENIS Score will help inform case reports and reviews.