Penile length is comparable in boys with and without hypospadias.
BACKGROUND
It has been suggested that penile length is negatively correlated to the degree of hypospadias; however, there are no studies in the literature actually comparing penile length in normal patients and patients with hypospadias.


METHODS
Between January and May 2011, we measured penile length in two groups of children aged up to 5 years. The first group comprised all boys admitted for hypospadias (40 patients; 25 distal and 15 proximal hypospadias). The control group comprised 100 boys seen for other surgical procedures excluding those with endocrine disorders. We measured the length of the dorsal aspect of the penis in the flaccid state, without stretching. We then established, using our control group, a range of 'normal' values for penile length in our population and determined whether children with hypospadias were within this 'normal' range.


RESULTS
Mean penile length in the control group was 4.07 ± 0.92 cm, mean penile length in the hypospadias group was 4.36 ± 0.9 cm (4.48 ± 0.89 cm for distal hypospadias and 4.21 ± 0.79 cm for proximal hypospadias). There was no difference in penile length between the hypospadias group and the control group regardless of degree of hypospadias.


CONCLUSIONS
This study indicates that penile length in children with hypospadias whether proximal or distal is within the normal range.
Department of Pediatric Surgery, CHR F Guyon, Bellepierre, Saint-Denis de La Reunion, Reunion.
L
L
Fievet
L
L
Harper
E
E
Chirpaz
J L
JL
Michel
F
F
Sauvat
D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007021:Hypospadias / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D010413:Penis / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014521:Urethra / Q000033:anatomy & histology