A new treatment of concealed penis: symmetrical pterygoid flap surgery

Considerable controversy exists regarding the surgery for concealed penis. We describe a new technique for repairing concealed penis by symmetrical pterygoid flap surgery.

From January 2016 to July 2022, we evaluated 181 cases of concealed penis that were surgically treated using the symmetrical pterygoid flap surgery. We measured the penile size preoperative and 2, 4, 12 weeks, and 1 year postoperative to confirm the improvement. A questionnaire was administered to the patients and parents to assess satisfaction regarding penile size, morphology, and hygiene.

The perpendicular penile length was1.59±0.32cm preoperative and 3.82±1.02 cm after the procedure (p < 0.05), and 4.21±1.91cm after one year of postoperative (p < 0.05). The overall satisfaction of patients was 97.89%, while the overall satisfaction of older children patients (age>7) was 75.24%. Parents focus more on the penile exposure size, while patients focus more on the penile morphology. Almost every patient had postoperative penile foreskin edema. However, this symptom had spontaneously resolved by 4-6 weeks. The complications such as skin necrosis, tissue contracture, or wound infection were 4.42%.

The symmetrical pterygoid flap surgery is an effective surgical technique for the management of concealed penis in children producing predictable results and excellent satisfaction of the parents and patients.