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Original poster

Hypospadias.

43 replies

showstopper100 · 28/02/2023 13:46

Sorry, don't really know where to put this thread but would like advice.

Our 10 month old has mild hypospadias. He had a hospital appointment at 6 months where we were told it was very mild and no surgery was needed.

We were asked if we would like to attend a appointment at 18 months old to do a double check on it which we have agreed to.

Does anyone else's DS have a history of this? Our son's Willy is small and it worries me although it's extremely functional and squirts me when peeing if I'm not quick enough when changing him 😂

I've been told hypospadias is common but I've never heard of it and I don't really know what happened for him to be born like it 🥲

OP posts:
Original poster
showstopper100 · 09/03/2023 17:10

Anyone? 😊

OP posts:
HippyChickMama · 09/03/2023 17:30

Ds has mild hypospadius, I can't remember how it's graded but he has the least severe one, his urethra is to one side. He was seen by a paediatrician at about 12 weeks old iirc and they decided not to do anything with it. He's 15 now and hasn't caused him any issues, he couldn't pee standing up when he was younger as he'd get it everywhere but as far as I know he can now (I've never asked him but I know he's used urinals in public toilets)

HippyChickMama · 09/03/2023 17:31

Btw, I think there's a hereditary element as my nephew also had hypospadius but the most severe form and needed surgery when younger

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DorritLittle · 09/03/2023 17:36

Mine has his urethra slightly to one side. He had a hooded foreskin which was corrected by a surgeon (at my request, they had recommended circumcision) but the urethra wasn’t as it wasn’t a problem.

It is a very common birth defect.

picklemewalnuts · 09/03/2023 18:04

Mine has a partial foreskin and hypospadius. Medics said no need to correct, but to come back if he's bothered by it. I asked him in his teens if he'd noticed or was bothered, but he wasn't.

It's really common, are rarely sever enough to intervene, afaik.

BertieBotts · 09/03/2023 18:39

My youngest has one. It's also mild, we were told that we could operate if we wanted them to but we decided not to.

I read it might be related to drinking caffeine in pregnancy, but it's quite likely that it's just a totally random thing. The process of building a human is complicated and it's fairly common for something to go wrong, this is one of those things that's mild enough not to have any survival type effect so it doesn't get selected out. There was no family history for us on either side either.

BertieBotts · 09/03/2023 18:41

I'm glad to hear your son can use urinals HippyChick, this is the main thing that was bothering DH and I.

How was it for potty training?

DorritLittle · 09/03/2023 18:46

My son was a delight to potty train with no problems* we did have a check up at 4 to check all was Ok.

*Especially compared to my daughter!

Original poster
showstopper100 · 09/03/2023 19:01

Thank you for all your replies.

My boy's willy seems quite small. I know they are small at this age but I'm not sure if I'm being paranoid or not because I know he's got mild hypospadias 🤦🏻‍♀️

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 09/03/2023 21:46

I think they do look a bit stubbier which makes them look smaller (I have three boys) but I wouldn't worry about it. It will grow. If it was a micropenis then it would be really obvious at this age. So many doctors have looked at DS3's willy and none of them have expressed concern about the size.

bythere · 09/03/2023 21:56

I only have a girl but I've heard about it, the urethra opening is not directly at the tip of the penis but slightly off. I think in more severe cases it can be on the underside of the shaft. But it's usually corrected before school age and causes few problems later on.

ListenLinda · 09/03/2023 21:59

My DS had this OP. His uretha wasn’t in the correct place and had excess foreskin.
they advised surgery to correct it, so we did. He had it just after his 2nd birthday.

it is very common. I hadn’t heard of it either but it is the second most common birth ‘defect’ after un descended testicles. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer if I can.

Thistlelass · 10/03/2023 00:56

Well this is all old hat stuff from me as the son un question is now 42. He was my first born and I gave birth in a large city maternity unit. I was in a large ward for about 10 women all in the one room.
They quickly told me something was wrong and I was very upset. In my son's case the opening was on the underside of the punishment but was quite close to the end. A nurse on the Ward very kindly told me that in these cases something else was often found. It was not reassuring but he has mild Learning Disability and autism.
He had 2 operations about 1 year apart. The first failed. At that time the boys were catheterisation and expected to remain in bed until it was removed 10 days later.

SnowyBeachDay · 10/03/2023 03:55

My son had it. He had a repair at around 18 months as he had recurring UTIs

I can’t say if they are related but potty training was hard for him.

He is 12 now and he seems fine. We have been open with him about why he is circumcised and his younger brother is not. Younger son did not have it

ListenLinda · 10/03/2023 05:34

In my sons case, they told they would circumcise but they used the excess skin to rebuid his foreskin and now it apparently looks like a normal little boys penis. He is my only boy so nothing to compare to, apart the initial few days after the surgrey, he has recovered really well.

KLFisgonnarockyou · 10/03/2023 05:35

Our son had a mild case too and we were recommended surgery, which we did at 14 months. We dithered over whether to do when he wouldn’t remember or wait until he asks for it as a teenager. The advice we received is that if we wait for him to ask for it, that will mean it bothers him, so it seemed lower risk to do it when little. He had a few painful days but after a week was back to normal. Now 12 months on, it’s like it never happened.

BertieBotts · 10/03/2023 07:56

A nurse on the Ward very kindly told me that in these cases something else was often found. It was not reassuring but he has mild Learning Disability and autism.

I don't know if the medical consensus has changed, but we were told the opposite - that it's not associated with an increased risk of anything else. Of course it's possible that other conditions could occur alongside but it would be coincidental.

Clawdy · 10/03/2023 08:04

My friend's little boy had hypospadias, this was forty five years ago. He had an operation when he was about two, I think. He's now married with two children, so all fine there.

Thistlelass · 10/03/2023 09:10

That's interesting. My son also has dyspraxia. Forgot to mention that. Have 3 other sons. One had an undefended testicle brought down and he was circumcised (3 years old). Another had to have adhesions freed up.

Kdoel · 16/05/2023 21:57

Hi there, hope you don’t mind me dropping you a message. My second son was diagnosed with mild anterior hypospadia before we were discharged from hospital. We have been referred to a consultant so they can have a look and make a decision if surgery is necessary. How mild was your sons hypospadia as I’m dreading the thought of surgery. Thanks in advance.

Storynanny1 · 16/05/2023 22:17

One of my nephews had the most serious and had major surgery and later plastic surgery to tidy things up. He’s late 30’s now with 3 children so it was obviously a success. I do remember that he sat down to wee til after the last op when he was 5

HippyChickMama · 17/05/2023 06:38

Kdoel · 16/05/2023 21:57

Hi there, hope you don’t mind me dropping you a message. My second son was diagnosed with mild anterior hypospadia before we were discharged from hospital. We have been referred to a consultant so they can have a look and make a decision if surgery is necessary. How mild was your sons hypospadia as I’m dreading the thought of surgery. Thanks in advance.

There's a scoring system that's used to determine the severity of the hypospadias. My ds had the lowest severity, with the urethra just slightly to one side and didn't need surgery

chach1l0u · 17/05/2023 13:39

Hey, I saw this thread was active so thought I'd share our experience so far!

My son is 20 months, we had a diagnosis at birth, mild hypospadias with hood. (I didn't drink any caffeine in pregnancy so that's that theory out 😅). I did take antidepressants and there is some evidence that may be linked but ultimately it's considered a very common birth defect with no specific cause. We were told 1 in 200 male births, and some cases where it's impossible to tell the sex of a child so a decision is made using hormone tests and blood tests at birth.

DS urethra ends just before the end of his penis on the underside, and his wee goes back towards his legs.
We were invited to a seminar to have him examined and watch a presentation with about 10 other parents and boys with this condition. The seminar was graphic (with very detailed photographs in which the surgeon likened the surgery to "slicing and peeling a hotdog lengthways". My partner was queasy going for a wee for weeks afterwards.
It was really, really informative, and helpful to see other little boys and parents there. I guess it's not something people talked about in the generations before the internet, as I'd never heard of it but it's really common.
We were told at the seminar if we went ahead with the op, which is optional and not mandatory and done as part of the burns/reconstructive plastic surgery ward, we could choose whether to try and rebuild foreskin or circumcise. We were told it is a priority referral stage one, mild - and if it's not done by age 2 then it would move to the urgent waitlist, as it would cause issues with potty training etc.
So that was 8 months ago now, and I've heard nothing and seen no one. We were told there is a huge backlog of patients waiting as the surgery wasn't performed in this area during lockdown. My boy is happy & none the wiser, pulls on it much the same as any lad does and other than peeing backwards he's much the same as any other little boy.
Ours is a one stage repair, so should be one op and done. Then he will remain a patient until he is 18 with regular check ups, especially through his teens and puberty.
Anyway, hope someone might find this useful. It's a strange thing to have to think about your baby's future sex life and make these extra decisions regarding their bodies at a young age.

DorritLittle · 17/05/2023 15:21

Hi @Kdoel
I remember how stressful it was just after the birth as they were incredibly vague about it leaving me to do a lot of detective work. One GP I went to for reassurance denied there was even a problem despite the foreskin being hooded. At the eight week check a different GP saw it straight away and referred him.

But it was after that fine, honestly. My son’s mild hypostasias was not corrected as it didn’t cause any major issues being slightly off centre - we were told we could but opted not to. We did do a few urology appointments to determine the exact physiology and he had an op at 14 months to correct his foreskin. This was a day appointment and went fine. It was a bit painful for him to wee for a few days after but we have him painkillers.

We chose foreskin reconstruction over circumcision but could have had either.

Who knows what caused it - I was 35 when I had him. I used nasal sprays occasionally due to very bad allergies. I may have had the odd cup of tea. But I don’t think they know for sure and it’s a very common birth defect. It’s also possible it is hereditary as MIL made some reference to a brother having some issue but I didn’t press her because it didn’t change anything.

Storynanny1 · 17/05/2023 16:06

I’m not sure about it being hereditary, but as well as my nephew, one of my grandsons also has this.