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Penis abnormalities in children

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Checked: 23-12-2022 by Rob Adams Next Review: 23-12-2023

Overview

Please see the following review article on anomalies of the penis and urethra in males including hypospadias:

Congenital Urogenital Malformations information | Doctor | Patient

Hypospadias

Hypospadias is one of the most common congenital abnormalities with an incidence from 0.3 to 0.7% in live male births.

The diagnosis is usually made during the newborn examination. Physical findings include:

The appearance of two urethral openings: the first one will be in the normal position at the end of the glans, which will be a blind ending urethral pit. The second is the abnormally located true urethral meatus.
Abnormal foreskin due to its incomplete closure around the glans leading to the appearance of a dorsal hooded prepuce.
Abnormal penile curvature (chordee).

In 6% of cases the foreskin is normal and the urethral abnormality only becomes evident during/after circumcision when the glans of the penis is visualised (1).

Referral

All babies and children with suspected hypospadias should be referred to a paediatric urologist via eRS at time of diagnosis for assessment and planning of treatment if needed.

Parents should be informed that they should not get their child circumcised while awaiting assessment.

Parents awaiting assessment can also be directed to the following information:

Hypospadias | Abnormality of the Urethra & Penis | Treatment | Patient

The department of paediatric urology at BRHC also have a family information leaflet giving details on Surgery for Hypospadias.

Resources

(1) Hypospadias - Paediatric Pearls

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