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Suture tracks after hypospadias repair
Author(s) -
Warren Snodgrass
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
bju international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1464-410X
pISSN - 1464-4096
DOI - 10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.00286.x
Subject(s) - hypospadias , glans , medicine , fibrous joint , surgery , dorsum , incidence (geometry) , penis , anatomy , physics , optics
Objective To determine the incidence of suture tracks after hypospadias repair in which 6–0 chromic catgut was used to close the skin. Patients and methods From an initial series of 72 boys undergoing tubularized, incised‐plate hypospadias repair, 23 (32%) were evaluated 1 year or more after surgery. Results Of the 23 boys, 10 (43%) were found to have suture tracks. In all cases tracks were located on the ventral shaft skin and did not involve the glans or dorsal aspect of the circumcision. These tracks had not been detected at an earlier follow‐up. Conclusions Tracks resulting from small absorbable sutures may not be apparent soon after surgery because the sinus is small. With time, the sinuses fill with keratin and thereby become obvious. The location of these tracks suggests that relative hypovascularity of ventral shaft skin may contribute to their development. The use of subcutaneous sutures may diminish the incidence of this minor complication of hypospadias surgery.