ABSTRACT
Hypospadias is the incomplete development of the male urethra resulting in the condition where the urethral meatus is located proximal to its normal location. The meatus in hypospadias may be located anywhere along the path between the perineum and the normal location in the glans. Common associated anomalies include incomplete foreskin with ventral preputial skin defect (in nearly all cases), ventral penile curvature (we no longer use the term chordee), and deficient corporus spongiosum. Only recently has research been focused on the genetic, hormonal, and environmental causes of hypospadias. Better understanding of the etiology of hypospadias may help in the surgical design and correction of the disease. As Culp and McRoberts stated, ‘It is the inalienable right of every boy to be a pointer instead of a sitter by the time he starts school and to write his name legibly in the snow.’ Thus, the goal of a practitioner of hypospadiology, ‘the in-depth study of the art and science of the surgical correction of hypospadias’,1 as coined by Dr John W Duckett Jr, is to master the different techniques developed for the correction of this congenital defect and individualize them to each unique patient.
