Exstrophy of bladder: evolution of management

Eighty-nine patients with bladder exstrophy were seen at our institution over the last fifty years. There were 63 males and 26 females. Cloacal exstrophy constituted 9 per cent of our experience. Twenty-seven patients underwent primary urinary diversion with subsequent genital reconstruction early on in our series. Of the 57 children operated on since 1951, 50 were judged eligible for and underwent a planned multistaged reconstruction. We realized a 50 per cent success rate. The majority of failures were diverted into an ileal conduit for persistent incontinence.