Home > Encyclopedia of Surgery > Hypospadias Repair

Definition

Hypospadias repair refers to a group of surgical approaches used to correct or reconstruct parts of the external genitalia and urinary tract related to a displaced meatus, or opening of the urethra. The urethra is the passageway that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. Hypospadias is the medical term for a birth defect in which the urethra opens on the underside of the penis (in boys) or into the vagina (in girls). The word hypospadias comes from two Greek words that mean underneath and rip or tear, because severe forms of hypospadias in boys look like large tears in the skin of the penis.

Hypospadias is one of the most common congenital abnormalities in males. It was described in the first and second centuries A.D. by Celsus, a Roman historian of medicine, and Galen, a Greek physician. The first attempt to correct hypospadias...