Effect of preoperative estrogen on complications after proximal hypospadias repair: A randomized controlled trial

Proximal hypospadias repair has many postoperative complications such as urethrocutaneous fistulae, wound dehiscence, and urethral stricture. The beneficial effect of estrogen to promote wound healing has been known. We designed a study to determine whether preoperative stimulation of tissue with estrogen can reduce the postoperative complications associated with wound healing in patients undergoing hypospadias repair.

Patients with proximal hypospadias requiring two-stage repairs (chordee correction followed by urethral tubularization) were randomized to estrogen and control groups before the second stage of surgery. In the former, topical estrogen cream (0.5 mg of estriol) was applied to the ventral penis for a month, whereas normal saline gel was applied to the latter; the urethroplasty was carried out thereafter. Patients were followed up for complications.

There were 29 patients in the estrogen group and 31 in the placebo group after the exclusion criteria were met. There was no significant difference in the overall postoperative complications between the estrogen group (44.8%) and the placebo group (51.6%). The occurrence of urethrocutaneous fistula (37.9% vs. 51.6%) and dehiscence (41.4% vs. 45.2%) was not significantly different between the estrogen and placebo groups. Neourethral stricture occurred in four patients in the estrogen group, while none of the patients in the placebo group developed stricture.

The preoperative application of topical estrogen cream to the ventral penis failed to demonstrate any significant effect on wound healing and complications.