Family travels from England (UK) for Hypospadias repair surgery of their child to Navi Mumbai, India

Hypospadias remains one of the most common urological anomalies across the globe affecting almost 1/150 newborn boys. No nation or economic status or religion is exempt from its occurrence. The art and science of hypospadias treatment has evolved significantly in the last two years with a single stage repair of hypospadias a real possibility in most of the cases. The results of hypospadias surgery are of course better at centres where there are specialist hypospadias surgeons doing dedicated hypospadias treatment in large numbers every year. Even the complications of hypospadias surgeries decrease significantly with increasing experience. This was the aim with which we started Hypospadias Foundation in 2008. Now 6 years later, we are happy to provide excellent outcomes and give happiness to kids and families who travel to India from all over the world.

The Child from Great Britain

Master Narain was noted to have hypospadias as soon as he was born in England. The pediatrician advised the family to meet the pediatric surgeon or pediatric urologist when the child was three months old. Through the NHS system, the family went and met a Pediatric Surgeon who advised hypospadias repair surgery after 1.5-2 years of age.

Mother and father, both UK residents, were worried about delaying the surgery so much as somehow they felt that once the surgery is needed they better get it done at a younger age than a later age. They just couldn’t understand the point of waiting for the surgery which would anyway be required. With this dilemma about the age for hypospadias surgery, they contacted us at Hypospadias Foundation. After a few tele and online consultations they decided to travel to India for Hypospadias repair surgery with us at MITR Hospital in Navi Mumbai, India. We advised surgery between 6 months to one year of age. Finally, when Narain was 9 months old they traveled to India from England and visited us.

On examination, Narain had a distal penile hypospadias without any chordee. The urethral plate was pink and healthy and he seemed suitable for a single stage Hypospadias repair. Parents did not have too many questions and I was very surprised. When I asked, they said that they have read a lot of blogs written by me on hypospadias treatment and were upto date with what their son is going to go through. This was a very happy consultation indeed. Saved me time and energy but still I went through the pre and post hypospadias surgery routine with them explaining to them. They just nodded their heads and posted Narain for surgery one day later and meanwhile we got the blood/ urine tests and pre surgery fitness for anesthesia.

Surgery was done as first case in the morning the following day. Surgery was done under caudal analgesia and sevoflurane anesthesia. Since the urethral plate was good and the hypospadias was not very severe (distal penile hypospadias), we did a Tubularised incised plate urethroplasty also called Snodgrass repair urethroplasty. The surgery took only 75 minutes. Narain tolerated the procedure well and was to his usual playful self in a few hours after surgery. We sent him home by the next morning on usual oral medications for pain and bladder spasms and a mild antibiotic. One week later, the family visited us again in the outpatient clinic for removal of dressing and catheter. Narain passed urine well without any issues and had a good healing operative site at the time of hypospadias dressing removal. Another followup was scheduled at 10 days after catheter & dressing removal. Narain was passing urine in a good straight stream without any difficulty. Also the cosmetic result was excellent. The family was overjoyed and was able to travel back to England within three weeks of surgery. We requested the family to send us a short video of Narain passing urine and a few pictures of his penis at about 6 weeks and 3 months after surgery to confirm that everything has healed without any complication. We received these videos and pictures a week back and were happy to note that there was no complication of the surgery. We expect Narain to do very well and live a normal life after the hypospadias surgery.

About the author:

Dr A.K.Singal is a renowned Pediatric urologist and is considered one of the best hypospadias surgeons in India. He treats more than 100 kids with hypospadias every year at various hospitals in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Mumbai. Lot of kids travel from neighbouring cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Goa and as far as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Calcutta, Delhi, Jaipur, Chennai etc.

He can be contacted by filling up the form here: Contact form Dr A.K.Singal

Dr A.K.Singal during Hypospadias surgery

Watch Video of Distal Penile Hypospadias Repair Surgery by Dr A.K.Singal, expert hypospadias surgeon

Watch Video of Single stage surgery for severe scrotal hypospadias by Dr A.K.Singal, Hypospadias specialist surgeon

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    Post-operative instructions and home care after hypospadias repair surgery

    Hypospadias surgery is a delicate, skillful and complicated surgery. The good thing about hypospadias treatment is that young babies heal very fast and become well within a week to ten days after the hypospadias repair. Fortunately, unlike adults, the children do not think about pain. They live their life happily soaking in, everything moment to moment. Adults on the other hand think and anticipate pain too much hence they land up having more pain. It is the anticipation of the pain which is worse than the pain itself.

    That being said, here we have tried to give detailed post hypospadias repair instructions for the parents and patients so that they can understand the care which needs to be taken after hypospadias surgery. Please note that these are generalized instructions after hypospadias surgery and there will be some variations on a case to case basis and it is best to discuss with your hypospadias surgeon for other details.

    • Diet: Children can often be fed 2-3 hours after hypospadias repair if the surgery was done under sedation and caudal epidural anesthesia. Some complex or failed hypospadias may require general anesthesia for surgery and these kids are kept empty stomach for 3-4 hours after surgery.
    • Urine passage: In almost all the hypospadias repairs, there is urinary pipe called catheter which is left across the hypospadias repair site. This goes into the bladder and drains drops of urine continuously. It is generally removed after 5-10 days by the hypospadias specialist depending on the type of the repair.
    • Diaper care: Post hypospadias treatment babies are kept in double diapers till the time the catheter is there. If the child is more than 6-7 years of age, then diapers may be difficult to maintain- hence we prefer to use a urine bag for drainage of urine. We ask the parents to make a hole on the front side of inner diaper and bring out the catheter to drain into the outer diaper. This way the inner diaper is changed only when the child passes motions and hence remains dry. Outside diaper is changed whenever it is full of urine.
    • Hypospadias Dressing care: At the end of hypospadias surgery, we place a soft gauze roll dressing on penis to give some support to the healing penis. There may be minor bleeding into the diaper on and off for first 3-4 days which is nothing to worry about. The hypospadias dressing sometimes becomes loose and comes out. If this happens within first 2-3 days, then we change the hypospadias dressing. If it happens later, we just remove the dressing and leave the wound open.
    • Discharge after hypospadias surgery: Most of the children who have a simple primary hypospadias are discharged the same day of surgery by evening- daycare hypospadias surgery. Children who are traveling from far may come the night before to hospital and stay for a day or two after surgery as well. Children who have undergone a failed hypospadias or a complex surgery are kept in hospital for 2 nights after surgery also for antibiotic injections or pain relief etc.
    • Pain relief: We prescribe an oral syrup of analgesic medicine mostly a combination of ibuprofen and paracetamol for first few days after surgery. This ideally should be given post feeds and not on empty stomach. We also give a medicine called oxybutynin which is an anticholinergic and prevents bladder spasms (painful bladder contractions due to catheter).
    • Medications: A broad spectrum antibiotic such as cephalexin is also prescribed to prevent infections along with an antacid medicine such as Lansoprozole for the first few days.
    • Activity, walking, playing within the house is allowed even the day of surgery by evening but we ask the parents to make sure that the child does not use cycle or any toy on which straddling is needed. Child can sleep on his tummy if he likes to sleep that way. Double diapers prevent too much compression of the hypospadias repair site.
    • Visits with doctor: We like to see the patients on day 5 after surgery for removal of dressing and for some minor hypospadias repairs we remove the catheter also at the same time. If its moderate or severe hypospadias surgery, we generally remove the catheter after 7-10 days and hence the catheter is removed on second visit then.
    • Bathing: Once the dressing is out on day 5, the child can be given a short warm tub bath. We ask parents not to use any cotton or cloth for drying the area of hypospadias repair surgery as fibers can stick to the raw area. It is better than after drying the rest of the body the diaper is put on directly and that will dry the area.
    • Ointments on penis: We advise putting a broad spectrum antibiotic ointment such as neosporin locally on the penis at each diaper change so that it prevents infection and also protects the raw area from sticking to the diaper.

    We hope this little primer on care of children after hypospadias surgery helped you. Please feel free to get in touch with us if you need any further information. We hope and pray that your little kid becomes better soon and recovers well from hypospadias surgery.

    About the author:

    Dr A.K.Singal delivering his talk at ESPU

    Dr A.K.Singal is one of the best hypospadias surgeons and Pediatric Urologists in India. He practices in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Mumbai area of India. Dr Singal believes in giving as much information to parents and families as possible about surgery, pre surgery and post surgery course. It helps the parents to be fully informed as he says in his own humorous way- “it decreases my stress and time per consult”

    In case you have a child with hypospadias, you can contact him at the following places:

    1.      MITR Hospital & Hypospadias Foundation

    74-90, 1st Floor, Above IDBI Bank, Chaturbhuj, Shilp Chowk

    Sector-21, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai- 410210

    Mon & Fri: 5:00-6:30pm, Tues: 12-1pm, Appointments: +91-22-27743558/4229 & 09324180553

     2.      Fortis Hospital, Mulund

    Mulund Goregaon Link Road, Mulund, Mumbai – 400078

    Wed & Sat: 4:00pm-5:00pm, Appointments: +91- 22- 43654365; 67994185

    3.      Jupiter Hospital, Thane

    Wed & Saturday, 2:00pm-3:00pm, Appointments: +91-22-21725563/ 55 

    4.      MGM’s New Bombay Hospital, Vashi.

    Sector-3, Vashi-400703, Navi Mumbai

    Mon, Wed & Fri: 7:00-8:00pm, Phone: +91-22-61526666/ 6675/ 6607

    5.      MITR Clinic, Vashi

    C1/8, Sector- 2, Opp. Green City, Vashi, Navi Mumbai

    Tue & Sat: 7:00pm-8:00pm, Appointments: +91-22-65163816 & 9324502572

    6.      Fortis Hiranandani Hospital, Vashi

    Miniseashore road, Sector-10, Vashi, Navi Mumbai

    Tue & Sat: 6:00pm-7:00pm, Appointments: +91-22-39199200, 222

     

    Email address: arbinders@gmail.com

    Websites:

    www.pediatricurology.inwww.hypospadiasfoundation.comwww.mitrhospital.com

    Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/pedurohypospadias

    Videos:

    Single stage repair of severe hypospadias

    Interview: Dr Singal speaks about Hypospadias

    Contact Form for Hypospadias Foundation

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      Excellent results of Hypospadias repair surgery – TIP urethroplasty (Snodgrass Repair) for distal penile hypospadias

      Hypospadias is one of the most common malformations in boys and affects more than 1 lakh kids in India. At Hypospadias foundation and MITR Hospital, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, India – we see and manage more than 200 kids every year who have hypospadias and need surgery. These cases are either primary (75%) or those have failed surgery elsewhere (25%)- some of them have failed multiple surgeries elsewhere.

      We strongly believe that hypospadias surgical correction should not be taken lightly or casually by any surgeons as first hypospadias surgery is the best chance which the child has. Once the first hypospadias surgery has a complication, more surgeries are needed and still the result may not be optimal. Hence, the surgeon needs to be well trained for hypospadias repair procedure and should have a very keen and passionate interest before he takes up any child up for surgery for hypospadias.

      Amongst the various techniques for hypospadias surgery, one of the most popular one is Tubularised Incised Plate (TIP) urethroplasty. TIP repair was first described by Prof Warren Snodgrass and it currently constitutes 70% of all distal and midpenile hypospadias repairs across the world. Due to its universal adoption and remarkable results, it is also known as Snodgrass repair. I had the good fortune of assisting Dr Warren Snodgrass during his multiple visits to India when I was a resident in pediatric surgery at All India Institute of Medical Sciences. I keep bumping him into now and then at pediatric urology conferences, the last one of which was European Society of Pediatric urology Congress in Genoa Italy. We received the best paper award at the conference and it was nice to see Dr Warren Snodgrass applauding us.

      While TIP repair or Snodgrass urethroplasty has excellent results, case selection before surgery is very important. The criteria are:

      1. Distal or midpenile hypospadias
      2. Mild to moderate chordee which is correctable
      3. Wide pink elastic urethral plate.

      In certain selected proximal hypospadias, Snodgrass repair can be used but on a personal level- a long Snodgrass repair may not be the best option in most cases. We have started using Onlay Island flap repair in most of our proximal hypospadias and all distal/ mid penile hypospadias which are unsuitable for TIP Urethroplasty.

      Steps of surgery:

      1. Degloving the penis and chordee correction – straightening of the curvature of the penis
      2. Midline urethral plate incision
      3. Neo-urethra formation on a catheter
      4. Second layer coverage with either a dartos flap or spongiosum
      5. Penile skin cover with Byars flap which helps in creating a midline closure on underside of penis. After the healing is finished, penis looks like just a circumcised penis. In some selected cases Prepucial reconstruction can be offered.

      You can watch the video of a Snodgrass Urethroplasty for a distal penile hypospadias here.

      In my experience as an expert hypospadias surgeon, while doing TIP urethroplasty everything has to be done meticulously to prevent complications. If I have to narrow down on two things which have really lessened the complications of hypospadias repair with Snodgrass urethroplasty at our centre are:

      • Fashioning a wide caliber neo-meatus- so that there is no narrowing later on
      • Providing a second layer cover on new urethra with either spongiosum or a dartos flap.

      Master Soham’s parents stay in Latur, Maharashtra and their son was diagnosed to have a distal penile hypospadias at birth. Worried about multiple surgeries and poor outcomes for hypospadias repair- They searched for the best hypospadias surgeon on the internet and landed up in our pediatric urology clinic at MITR Hospital in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai. We did the surgery using a Snodgrass repair technique in First week of May 2014. The surgery went well and child was discharged the evening of surgery. The dressing and catheter were removed 5 days after surgery and now one month after followup the child has an excellent outcome after hypospadias repair surgery. The cosmetic appearance is excellent with a meatus at the tip of penis, straight penis and just a circumcised appearance.

      Good cosmetic outcome after single stage hypospadias repair surgery

      Parents are also happy and overjoyed.

      Happy parents – after successful hypospadias repair surgery

      If you wish to consult Dr Singal you can fill up this contact form here:

      http://hypospadiasfoundation.com/contact-patient.htm

      Or call up Dr Rajkumar at +91-9821261448 to discuss anything

      Contact Form for Hypospadias Foundation

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        Checklist before Hypospadias Repair Surgery

        Hypospadias Foundation starts Clinic for Hypospadias Treatment & Surgery in Bahrain

        Hypospadias is a birth defect which affects a vital organ of the body- Penis. Penis is the most important organ for urinary and sexual function in a male. Though everyone worries more about sexual function, let me tell you as an expert hypospadias surgeon and a pediatric urologist that both urinary and sexual functions are equally important. While we may need penis for sexual function may be once or twice a day and for maybe for 30-40 years in our lives, we certainly need it for urinary function right from birth till we die and many more times each day. Hence the purpose of hypospadias repair is to set both the functions right in one go- single stage urethroplasty. This includes correction of the curvature of the penis (chordee correction) as well as making a good caliber smooth new urethra till the tip of penis.

        But all said and done – Hypospadias treatment means a surgery. Surgery word itself is very scary and it requires a lot of courage and faith for the parents to handover their little one to a surgeon and let me tell you it is not easy for parents to hand over their young kid for a surgery. Lot of things go around in their minds about risks, results and safety of both surgery and anesthesia. Having been a pediatric urologist for almost a decade now, I can feel their helplessness and pain. I never let these feelings overpower me and become a stumbling block to delivering good care. I try to channelize them in the right way and empathize with the family and tell them upfront that I know how they are feeling. And then I tell them what all safety precautions and risk mitigation strategies we have lined up for the hypospadias surgery. My favorite sentence at this juncture is “Safety first everything else later”.

        An helmet/ bike analogy works well in this situation: we should always follow all precautions before we go for a bike ride and most importantly wearing a helmet. We may wear a helmet a thousand times and not have an accident but the day we don’t wear it that is the day when we are vulnerable and if something happens- it will be life threatening. Similarly, while doing a hypospadias surgery on a small kid we also take all precautions to make sure that we are absolutely prepared even if something happens in that rare 1/1000 chances.

        Hypospadias Surgery Checklist:

        1. Pre-operative fitness tests: A thorough history is taken for any evidence of infection, other illness and any familial disorders. A complete blood count and a urine test is done to check for body parameters. A pediatrician consult is often taken for a systemic examination. Chest xray is no longer recommended routinely before elective surgery if the chest examination is normal.
        2. Pediatric Anesthesiologist: An anesthesia doctor adept at handling kids and regularly giving anesthesia to small kids is the second most important team member after the pediatric urologist.
        3. Hypospadias surgery set: Hypospadias repair surgery require fine, sharp and specialized microsurgery instruments- we keep is separately as a “Hypospadias Set” which is not used for any other surgery.
        4. Operation theatre: OT needs to be clean, sterilized, have all safety equipment for anesthesia, good lighting and all possible infection control measures.
        5. Antibiotic dose just before surgery: We give a dose of injectable broad spectrum antibiotic just before starting the surgery as an infection prevention measure.
        6. Trained staff: Well-trained nursing and junior doctor staff is needed both while assisting surgeries as well as post-operative management, since at Hypospadias foundation at MITR Hospital, Navi Mumbai, India- we do more than 150 hypospadias repairs every year- even the ward assistants know the care of these babies after surgery.
        7. Standardised protocol of surgery:  This has been covered in another blog- read it here.

        As a Pediatric Urologist and Hypospadias Specialist, I feel overwhelmed when parents trust me and handover their little ones under my care. It is a big responsibility and I try my best to handle them with care. Trust and faith that everything will be fine goes a long way in finding a cure for hypospadias. After all we are all instruments of god trying to do our best. As long as the intentions and efforts are honest, the results will also be good.

        About Dr A.K.Singal: Dr Singal is a renowned and top pediatric urologist & one of the best hypospadias surgeons in India. He is well known for single stage hypospadias surgical corrections. He operates children with hypospadias at his centre @ Hypospadias Foundation at Kharghar Navi Mumbai, at MGM & Fortis Hospitals in Vashi, at Fortis Hospital in Mulund, Mumbai and at Jupiter Hospital in Thane.

        Dr A.K.Singal during Hypospadias surgery

        Please feel free to write to us for an opinion at hypospadiasfoundationindia@gmail.com or fill this contact form http://hypospadiasfoundation.com/contact-patient.htm

        Watch videos on our Youtube Channel:

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGRDZGXlffY

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9_buN10lUE

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