Comparative analysis of one- and two-stage urethroplasty in the treatment of proximal hypospadias in children: flap or transplant?

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Surgical treatment of proximal forms of hypospadias in children is still a complex and largely unsolved problem. The large number of postoperative complications following reconstructive surgery for proximal forms of hypospadias supports scientific interest in this issue. AIM: This study aimed to conduct a retrospective comparative analysis of the effectiveness of two types of urethroplasty. We compared fundamentally different approaches to the formation of the artificial urethra, surgical techniques that use a different type of movement, and blood supply of the plastic materials a flap and a graft. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 113 primary patients with proximal hypospadias aged 8 months to 15 years who underwent surgery between 2013 and 2019 and were divided into two comparison groups. Group 1 included 53 (46.9%) boys; a single-stage urethroplasty was performed by the onlay-tube method, where a longitudinal skin flap of the dorsal surface of the penis was used as a plastic material. Group 2 included 60 (53.1%) patients; two-stage urethroplasty was performed by the Bracka method, where the plastic material for the formation of the artificial urethra was a preputial graft in 44 (73.3%) patients and a graft of the oral mucosa in 16 (26.7%) patients. RESULTS: When comparing the surgical results in the form of the number of complications requiring repeated surgical interventions under anesthesia to eliminate them, corresponding to ClavienDindo 3B complications, a significant difference was obtained in the study groups. The surgical results were significantly better when performing the two-stage Bracka method. CONCLUSIONS: In the surgical treatment of proximal forms of hypospadias in children, the two-stage Bracka method, where the plastic material for the formation of the artificial urethra is a preputial or mucosal graft, significantly reduced the number of postoperative complications.