VSR 421: Regional Veterinary Surgery (2+1)

HYPOSPADIAS

• Hypospadias is a condition resulting from the failure of the urogenital folds to fuse ventrally resulting in the penile urethra being incomplete.
• The condition is usually associated with the fusion of the prepuce and underdevelopment of the penis. The urethra may open anywhere between the normal opening at the tip of the glans penis and the perineal region. Depending on the location of the urethral opening hypospadias may be glandular, penile, scrotal or perineal.
• Surgical correction may not be required if there free flow of urine through the urethral orifice irrespective of its location as the urethra cranial to the defect will not be usually developed. However, if the urethral opening is not sufficiently large enough to allow free flow of urine the opening may be enlarged and the urethral mucosa sutured to the skin. Parts of the prepuce that interfere with the flow of urine may also be excised surgically.
• Deformed or curved os penis may result in the inability of the dog to retract the penis into the prepuce because of the abnormal curvature. This can result in the exposed part of the penis becoming dry, injured and infected later.
• Treatment may be attempted by correcting the curvature of the bone by fracturing it and immobilizing it by passing a urethral catheter or fixed using a finger plate. Urethral obstruction by callus is a possible complication when treatment is attempted by fracture and fixation of the os penis. Such cases may have to be treated by performing a prescrotal urethrostomy. In severe cases of curvature, partial penile amputation may be recommended.
• Penile frenulum, the connective tissue band that joins the penis and the prepuce ventrally, may fail to rupture during puberty in some animals and may be a cause of pain during erection. The animal may cry out in pain and be seen constantly licking the penis. Treatment is by transecting the frenulum under general anaesthesia.