Hypospadias is considered one of the most common abnormalities of the urethra, which are observed in boys, less often in girls. According to the latest data, out of 125 children, this defect occurs in two or three males. It's all hypospadias. What is it, what symptoms does it manifest, what is it associated with and how is it treated?
What is hypospadias?
Hypospadias is characterized by an unnatural displacement of the urinary opening to unsuitable parts of the body, such as the perineum, scrotum or lower surface of the penis.
In the presence of this defect, there is a complete violation of the urination regimen, irritation on the skin, discomfort and deformation of the penis occurs.
Hypospadias - what is it? The development of vice in girls
Hypospadias happens not only in boys, but also in girls. But this is extremely rare. In this case, there is a visible deformation of the opening of the urethrachannel. Most often, its opening occurs directly in the vagina. At the same time, the virgin film itself, or the hymen, also has a characteristic splitting.
What are the signs of rejection?
Hypospadias in children provides for a number of characteristic features. In particular, one of them is the presence of a hole in an unconventional place for it. Other symptoms include frequent urination and difficulty with urination.
Adult representatives of the stronger sex may experience complete sexual apathy towards their sexual partner and a pronounced deformation of the penis.
Unpleasant effects of hypospadias
In the absence of any help from specialists, hypospadias (a photo of this deviation can be seen below) leads to very unattractive consequences. In most cases, one or two dropsy appears in the testicles, medically called a hydrocele. They are a small sac resulting from excessive accumulation of fluid in both membranes of the testicles.
In turn, this phenomenon leads further to the occurrence of inguinal hernia and excessive accumulation of lymph.
In addition, there may be dysplasia of the foreskin and the development of chronic diseases. However, their manifestations directly depend on the type of deviation detected. This is what hypospadias leads to. We will consider its forms below.
In women and girls, the consequences of hypospadias can be infections such as cystitis, urethritis, vulvovaginitis, less often in suchpatients show pronounced signs of pseudohermaphroditism and hermaphroditism.
What types of hypospadias are there?
The following forms of congenital abnormalities are distinguished:
- capitate;
- crown;
- stem;
- scrotal;
- crotch;
- chordates.
What are capitate and coronal anomalies?
Capital hypospadias is considered the mildest and most common form of abnormality. In these patients, as a rule, the narrowed opening of the urethra is slightly displaced from the center of the glans to the coronal groove.
With these anomalies, men may experience discomfort due to pressure on the narrow channel of the urinary stream. The process of urination is difficult for them and looks like a thin stream. Curvature of the male genital organ at this stage is practically not observed.
Capitate hypospadias is typically found in 65-80% of men and boys.
Coronal or circumcoronal deviations are characterized by displacement of the hole closer to the groove. In the process of urination, patients notice a redirection of the jet at an angle to the penis.
In patients with this form of anomaly, the foreskin is pronounced, which acquires several new folds and forms a kind of pocket.
Coronal hypospadias usually results in a curvature of the penis, which then becomes ventral.
What isstem and scrotal abnormalities?
For the stem form of the anomaly, the location of the urethra on the trunk of the penis is characteristic. In such patients, over time, a severe deformation of the penis occurs, and the process of urination itself causes huge problems. The fact is that during the process the jet is directed downwards. Therefore, with every urge to go to the toilet, people with a similar diagnosis have to literally attract their manhood to the abdomen.
Scrotal hypospadias (a photo of this disease can be found in our article) provides for a congenital displacement of the canal either to the scrotum itself, or to the line of its demarcation with the organ trunk. Patients with this form of anomaly subsequently acquire a severe deformity of the penis and can only defecate while squatting.
What are perineal and chordate forms of anomalies?
The perineal form of deviation implies a displacement of the canal directly to the perineum, the presence of severe deformation of the penis, splitting of the scrotum and difficulty urinating (again, the process is carried out while sitting).
The chord form differs from all the previous ones in that it has an insignificant deviation from the norm. So, the opening of the urethra is located at the very top of the penis. However, the male dignity itself is deformed, which is due to the presence of skin dysplasia.
Now you are familiar with the concept of hypospadias. What is it and what types of this anomaly happens, we described above. However, you should also be aware of possible causes.given deviation.
What causes hypospadias?
Reliably little is known about the causes of hypospadias. However, the above anomaly may be caused by the following factors:
- improper development of the fetus at 7-15 weeks (it is during this period that the formation of the genital organs in the unborn baby);
- genetic or chromosomal abnormalities in the mother's body;
- complications caused by viral diseases of a pregnant woman (rubella, flu);
- inappropriate use of hormonal drugs by a woman in labor;
- fetal infections;
- frequent stressful situations;
- lack of food;
- maternity alcohol abuse and more.
All this list of negative factors, and sometimes a combination of several of them, lead to such an undesirable deviation as hypospadias (what it is is described in this article).
How is deviation diagnosed?
It is possible to identify the patient's deviations by carrying out scheduled diagnostics. It is thanks to her that an experienced doctor can easily determine the presence of a defect already on the first days of a baby’s life. The very same diagnosis and method of recognizing the disease include the following actions:
- careful visual examination of the penis of a child or adult;
- conducting a genetic study (allows you to identify sex chromatin);
- executionultrasound examination of the urinary tract and organs;
- Urography (allows you to study the structure and functions of the urinary system).
Hypospadias treatment options
If hypospadias is suspected, it is recommended to consult specialists such as a urologist and a surgeon. However, it should be understood that standard treatment is not enough here. Eliminates such a visual anomaly as hypospadias, surgery. At the same time, it is desirable to resort to surgical intervention at a suitable age for this. For example, children are best operated on between six months and one and a half years of age. It is at this time that all kinds of physical procedures (including subsequent rehabilitation) are most effective and easily tolerated by the child.
Some doctors believe that it is best to operate on a baby before the age of one, since small patients are not yet completely in control of the situation and quickly forget about the illness.
If hypospadias was not corrected in childhood, it can be corrected at any age.
When should I have surgery?
The presence of signs of illness does not always indicate that the patient needs surgery. According to experts, this should be done only in case of severe deformation of the genital organs and in the presence of a narrowed urethral opening.
Hypospadias Prevention
In order for an anomaly not to happen to your child, it is necessary to take preventive measures to prevent it. To this end, the futuremom is recommended to follow the following advice from experts:
- completely give up bad habits;
- avoid self-medication and the use of unreasonable drugs;
- try to avoid stressful situations;
- register with a gynecologist on time and visit him regularly;
- promptly consult a urologist in case of suspected hypospadias in a child (under the age of six months).
In a word, hypospadias is not yet a sentence. This problem can be quickly resolved. The main thing is to turn to specialists in time.
