title: Singlevs.double layer suturing method repair of the urethral plate in the rabbit model of hypospadias.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are different methods of urethroplasty in hypospadias. The present study aimed to compare the repair of the urethral plate by singlevs.double layer suturing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen male rabbits were assigned to the control, single layer, and double layer urethral plate suturing groups (n = 5). Experimental hypospadias was induced in the second and third groups and the urethral plates were sutured. After two weeks, the penis was dissected out and underwent histopathological processing. Stereological studies were applied to obtain quantitative histological data regarding the structure of the urethra and the related part of the corpus spongiosum.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Volume density of the urethral epithelium (the fraction of unit volume of the urethra occupied by its epithelium) was higher in the single layer suturing group when compared to the double layer or control groups (p <0.01). Additionally, the volume density of the urethral lumen (the fraction of the corpus spongiosum that is occupied by the urethral lumen) in the single versus the double layer suturing groups was respectively 2.4 and 2 folds higher than that in the control group (p <0.01). Besides, the volume density of the lumen was significantly higher in the single layer suturing when compared to the double layer suturing group (p <0.01). However, no significant difference was observed among the study groups regarding the volume density of the collagen and vessels in the incised site of the penis which implied that the fraction of the urethra and surrounding corpus spongiosum was occupied by collagen and vessels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Urethral plate repair by the single layer suturing method could be accompanied by higher epithelialization and wider lumen in the rabbit model of hypospadias.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Histomorphometry and Stereology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shirazi
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rahimi
authors.affiliation: Histomorphometry and Stereology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Department of Anatomy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Noorafshan
keywords: hypospadias; rabbit; stereology; urethra; urethroplasty