Chennai to Navi Mumbai: A Doctor’s tale of Hypospadias Repair Surgery for her son

As doctors we are blessed to earn both money and gratitude from our patients. This is even better for us Pediatric urologists as we can experience deep happiness of the parents when their little one gets better after a surgery. We personally feel that we are a part of their life now as we were the lucky one’s to be there when they were struggling to get their little one through a difficult time such as surgery. God has given such unique position to doctors caring for kids as they can then see kids growing up year by year and feel blessed to have invested their life into building up a healthy and safe future.

The diagnosis of hypospadias in a newborn baby can cause a lot of anxiety, distress and pain to the mother who has just delivered, the husband who hasn’t slept in days and the family which has keenly waited for 9 months. At this time in first few days of life, if a proper counseling and guidance can be given by an expert, it can make a world of difference. This may not be possible all of the times as surgeons caring for children with hypospadias on a very dedicated basis are far and few in between across India. Most of the pediatric urologists and surgeons are adept in diagnosing, understanding and counseling for hypospadias and hence should be called in neonatal age itself.

One year back, I received a call from neonatal nursery to see a newborn baby born with hypospadias. Both mom and dad were doctors and worked in Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. Mother was delivering in a Navi Mumbai hospital as the maternal side family lived in Vashi. During the visit, I could see the anxiety and concern writ large on her face. She was torn between playing her role as a mother and her knowledge as a doctor. I discussed with her in detail about the type of hypospadias and also the corrective surgery needed. Since it was a midpenile hypospadias, I told them that a single stage urethroplasty repair was possible. We discussed at length about the right age for surgery and anesthesia. The baby and mother were discharged from nursery at 3 days and then I saw them again at 1 month of age, By this time, the mom was mentally tough and ready for the surgery. We planned the surgery at 6 months of age.

The family travelled from Chennai to Navi Mumbai at 6 months of age with a preplanned date for surgery. Since the urethra was hypoplastic for a short distance proximally and the urethral plate was not very good, we did an onlay island flap repair. The surgery was completed in 2 hours and A.J. was discharged the next morning. The hypospadias dressing was removed on day 5 and the urinary catheter was removed on day 10 after surgery. A.J. healed well over next 2 weeks and the family visited me again 6 months after surgery. A.J. is passing urine from tip of penis, the penis is straight and there is an excellent cosmetic result of his hypospadias surgery. The family is overjoyed and I am also relieved and happy with the good outcome.

The mother sent us a nice thank you note last week and it made my day. It follows verbatim here:

Hello Dr. Arbinder Singal,
A happy parent with a blessed son.
First I would like to convey my heartily thankfulness for your key role in my life. I would rather tell it as my life because my son is my life.
October 2012, good news was accompanied with sad news too, when my pediatrician told me that my son is suffering from hypospadias. Even though I am also a doctor, a fearful alarm rang inside a mother with loads and loads of questions.
But to my rescue doctor, your opinion was asked. During your visit, you were polite and calmly answered all my questions and relieved my fears.
As I am from Chennai and my parents stay in Chennai, everything fell in place very conveniently.
After 6 months, the day for hypospadias surgery came, as doctors, my husband and I were ready mentally but emotionally it was a nightmare.
But thank you doctor, MITR doctors and staffs- All made us feel very comfortable. You were so supportive and took care of everything right from the beginning.

That day gave a new life to my son. Now he is doing fine and leading a happy and normal life.

Six months have passed and everything is well.

Thank you God
Thank you doctor
Thank you MITR Hospital and staff
Thank you Hypospadias foundation
May your sincere service continue forever for the needy.
God bless you
Yours
A happy parent with a blessed son

Footnote:

These are the letters and emails which make caring for kids worthwhile even in the face of all risks and uncertainties of surgery on a small child. In the dark times, these blessings shine like rays of hope and give energy to carry on. I wish to express gratitude to all parents who have trusted us with the care of their little ones. We feel truly blessed and honoured to be of help.

About the author:

Dr A.K.Singal is a Pediatric Urologist and a specialist hypospadias surgeon. He does more than 200 hypospadias repair surgeries every year and has the best results for complicated and failed hypospadias. Every year he gets referred complex, severe and failed hypospadias patients from all over India and more than 20 countries. Along with the team at Hypospadias Foundation and MITR Hospitals, he feels joy and blessings in caring for children with hypospadias.