Epispadias

Epispadias is a congenital anomaly that occurs when the external opening of the urethra (urethra) is located on the dorsal (upper) surface of the penis. This is different from the normal location where the urethra opens on the ventral (lower) side of the penis.

Epispadias is a rare condition that affects one in 117,000 male births. In girls, this anomaly is even more rare and manifests itself in the fact that the urethra opens on the anterior surface of the vulva.

Epispadias may be associated with other congenital abnormalities of the genitourinary system, such as bifid bladder. However, in most cases the cause of this anomaly is unknown.

The main symptoms of epispadias are irregular urination and inability to completely empty the bladder. In addition, children with epispadias may experience closure of the mouth of the urinary canal, which leads to urinary retention and inflammatory diseases of the genitourinary system.

Surgical correction of epispadias is usually performed during infancy. For this, various methods are used depending on the severity of the anomaly. In some cases, multiple surgeries are necessary to achieve complete correction.

Although epispadias is a rare condition, it can have a significant impact on a patient's quality of life. Therefore, it is important to seek medical help and take the necessary corrective measures.

Epispadias is a congenital anomaly characterized by the location of the external opening of the urethra (urethra) on the anterior surface of the scrotum or on the dorsal (posterior) part of the penis, and not on its apex, as is normal. Despite the fact that this anomaly is congenital, among children born in our time, cases of epispadias are extremely rare: throughout the world, such newborns account for no more than 1% of the total. In this regard, modern surgeons are unanimous in the opinion that the issue of plastic surgery of the defect of the external genitalia should be decided before the birth of the child, however, even today this operation is performed extremely rarely. In Russia, such operations are performed by six pediatric surgical hospitals, mainly in federal centers. A lot of children's urological hospitals come to us with a request to discuss with parents the possibility of laser correction of their infants' genitals. Despite the difficulties in the majority of children (85%), after 3–6 years of life the defective zone is completely leveled. When comparing the indicators of pre- and postnatal activity of children six months after birth, it was found that there were no fundamental differences except for this period during the first year of life for boys and girls.

73% of those suffering from epispadias simultaneously have other anomalies in sexual development. Among them are diseases such as cryptorchidism, hypospadias, urinary disorders (hyporeflexia and urinary incontinence), fecal incontinence, penile curvature and others. Based on information from the family history, it can be assumed that this genetic disease is transmitted in this case as an autosomal dominant type of inheritance.