The "long Snodgrass": applying the tubularized incised plate urethroplasty to penoscrotal hypospadias in 1-stage or 2-stage repairs.

PURPOSE: The technique of tubularized incised plate urethroplasty (Snodgrass modification) has gained wide acceptance for hypospadias repair. The reported experience with this surgical modification has been primarily in cases of distal hypospadias. We applied this technique to cases of penoscrotal hypospadias and incised the urethral plate for its entire distance.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the last 24 months 21 boys 7 months to 8 years old with penoscrotal hypospadias were treated with a Thiersch-Duplay urethroplasty using the Snodgrass modification. The procedure was performed in 7 patients as a primary repair and in 14 at stage 2 of the 2-stage repair. The entire length of the urethral plate was incised along the midline in primary repairs, and the skin flaps and residual urethral plate were incised in the 2-stage repairs. The neourethra was tubularized over a 5 or 8Fr catheter. A layer of de-epithelialized tissue from the dorsal prepuce was used to cover the neourethra. No patient required skin flap to complete the urethroplasty. The urethral stent was removed in 7 to 10 days postoperatively.

RESULTS: Of the 21 patients 19 (90%) required no other surgery as the repair provided a normal appearing penis (straight, terminal meatus, cosmetics) without complications such as meatal stenosis, fistula and diverticula, and voiding with a well directed full stream. One child had dehiscence of the glanular portion of the repair and 1 child had a pinpoint fistula, both of which were repaired successfully at a later date. Followup ranges from 5 to 12 months.

CONCLUSIONS: The "long Snodgrass" modification to a Thiersch-Duplay repair is an effective technique for penoscrotal hypospadias as a single and 2-stage procedure. The success and complication rates are excellent in the short term. Longer term complications, such as strictures and diverticula, need to be assessed in the future.