If the hypospadias is minor and the opening near or immediately below the
glans such that urination is essentially normal, there is little reason to
subject the child to surgical correction. Many urologists today recommend
not intervening in such cases, especially at such a young age. To repair
this condition requires taking skin tissue from the penile shaft.
Presumably, this child was NOT circumcised. Essentially the child will be
circumcised in the procedure. In many cases, the extent of surgery can
result in restriction and discomfort during erection.
-James E. Peron, MS, Ed.D.
====
A friend's husband has mild hypospadias. He was a professional football
player, so evidently was not humiliated out of locker rooms. He is a
wonderful loving husband, she is now menopausal and they report a
comfortable satisfactory sexual life with no need for lubricants or unusual
forms of stimulation. This would not be possible if he had been circumcised
or if his preputial nerves had been severed to "correct" a hypospadias.
Parents and nurses and doctors can easily open their mouths and hearts and
explain differences so that children can protect themselves from any verbal
insults, far more easily than infants and children can endure terrible pain
of injury and destruction to the precious nerve structure that the prepuce
is, and the lifelong progressive desensitization and concomitant sexual
roughness which is the result of circumcision, really a sexual mutilation.
-Maurene White
====
My brother was born with mild hypospadias. My parents opted not to have it
corrected. He is now the father of three children and to the best of my
knowledge, the hypospadias has not been an issue for him.
My son, however, had a more serious case of hypospadias. We chose to have
the surgery done because we were concerned that the hypospadias would
become a psychological problem as he grew older. He was ten months old when
the hypospadias was corrected. We spent one night in the hospital, and my
son was his happy, active old self the next day. He healed rapidly and
eight years later, you'd never know there had been any hypospadias to begin
with. We do not regret making the decision to undergo the surgery for my
son, and my parents do not regret their decision to forego the surgery for
my brother.
-Deana Lampron
====
My husband has hypospadia which was allegedly repaired when he was an
infant. I was not turned off by it, more fascinated, but I'm that way by
nature. I did have some concerns about the mechanical function when we were
having difficulty conceiving (have since had 3 pregnancies).
I know my husband sometimes found it difficult when he was growing up
because at times he urinated on his hand or shoe. Even though it was
allegedly repaired, he stills has an opening on the underside of his penis
as well as one at the end of it.
My husband has suffered no physical problems as a result of this
deformity--no urinary tract infections, etc. It has been primarily an
emotional issue that he learned to deal with over the years (he's 45).
-Cindy
====
My son has a mild uncorrected hypospadias. The urinary opening is slightly
lower than the tip of the penis. It has not caused him any problems, nor
has it affected his marital relationship or concerned his wife.
If it were more severe, we might have inquired into correction. In fact,
our family physician left a small flap of skin when circumcising him (we
didn't even know to consider leaving him intact that many years ago), for
use in case we ever decided on corrective surgery.
I believe one reason it didn't--and doesn't--concern my son is that we
never made an issue of it. And since it is mild I don't think any of his
friends ever noticed it. At least not that he mentioned.
-Anon.
====
When my son was born, I was working as a mother baby nurse and witnessed
plenty of circumcisions done where too much foreskin was removed. I am
philosophically against circumcisions, but I took the middle way and asked
the surgeon to use a plastibell appliance in the circumcision so a little
foreskin would be left if there were problems. The surgeon agreed but went
ahead and used the typical clamp device. As it turned out, our son had a
very mild hypospadius located right at the base of the glans. As a toddler
he had several bladder infections which were easily treated with
antibiotics. Once he was out of diapers he was fine.
I have read there are some issues around possible fertility problems in the
sense that sperm may not be deposited right on the opening of the cervix,
but the trauma and perhaps the physical and emotional scarring from
surgical correction never seemed worth it to us.
-Anon.
Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 2 Issue 7 February 18, 2000)
To subscribe to the E-News write: enews@midwiferytoday.com
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