What is Epispadias? Causes, diagnosis and treatment

What is Epispadias?

Epispadias is a rare congenital (present at birth) abnormality that involves the opening of the urethra (the tube from which urine exit the bladder). In boys with epispadias, the urethra opens in top of the penis rather than the tip. The space between this opening and tip of the penis appears like an open book (gutter). In girls with epispadias, the urethral opening is towards the clitoris or even belly area. This results in the external genitalia and urethra not forming or functioning well.

Most boys and girls are born with genitals that look normal and work well. But some children are born with a condition called epispadias. Epispadias can produce a penis or urethra that don’t work well or look normal.

epispadias

There are many types of surgery that pediatric urologists can use to fix this problem. Here we offer information to help you speak to your child’s urologist about options.
How Does Epispadias Affect Boys?

Epispadias is quite rare, affecting only 1 in 117,000 males. In boys with epispadias, the penis tends to be broad, short, and curved up (“dorsal chordee”). The pelvic bones are widely separated. Since the penis is attached to these bones, it results in a penis that’s pulled back toward the body.

Normally, the opening of the urethra (the “meatus”) is at the tip of the penis. But in boys with epispadias, it’s on top of the penis.

From this opening, a groove runs along the top of the penis to the end. The epispadias is classified based on the location of the meatus on the penis.

Glanular epispadias: It is found on the head of the penis
Penile epispadias: It is found along the shaft of the penis
Penopubic epispadias: it is found or near the pubic bone

The position of the meatus can help predict the how well the bladder stores urine. If the meatus is close to the base of the penis (and the abdominal wall), the bladder sphincter is likely affected and it won’t hold urine.

In most cases of penopubic epispadias, the bones of the pelvis don’t come together in the front. The bladder sphincter doesn’t close all the way since it’s shaped more like a horseshoe than a ring. Because of this, urine leaks out. Most boys with penopubic epispadias, and about 2 of 3 with penile epispadias leak urine with stress. (Things like coughing and strenuous effort.) Most will need to have the bladder neck fixed with surgery.

Almost all boys with glanular epispadias have a good bladder neck. They can hold urine and toilet train normally. Still, the bend and abnormal opening of the penis will need to be fixed with surgery.
How Does Epispadias Affect Girls?

Epispadias is much more rare in girls, with only 1 of 484,000 cases. Girls who are affected have pubic bones that are separated to different degrees. This keeps the clitoris from connecting in the middle, resulting in 2 halves of the clitoris. The bladder neck is also almost always affected. Girls with epispadias likely leak urine with stress. (Things like coughing and strenuous effort.) In most cases, early surgical treatment can fix these problems.
What are the Symptoms of Epispadias?

Most cases of epispadias are diagnosed at birth during physical examination of the newborn. In mild cases of epispadias, the condition can go unnoticed until parents note urine leaks after potty training.

What Causes Epispadias?

The way the organs form in a baby during pregnancy is very complicated. Certain steps must occur in a finely timed order. Most often, if there is one defect in an organ, there will also be other defects. Only rarely does epispadias occur alone. There will also often be issues with the bladder. In rare cases, there can also be defects in the large intestine.

How the epispadias affects the genitals varies. In some boys, it can be just a small dimple on the tip of the penis above the normal urethral opening. With girls, it could be a double clitoris. If the urethra or bladder is involved, the epispadias is usually more severe. This large range of issues is called the exstrophy-epispadias complex
How is Epispadias Diagnosed?

Epispadias is most often noticed at birth. If the defect is mild, it might not be noticed at first. In some cases, it might not be noticed until the child has been toilet trained and presents with urine leak. This is most common with girls.

How is Epispadias Treated?

The main goal of treatment is to make the genitals look and work as normally as possible. This is ideally done with the fewest number of surgeries.
Surgery Options for Boys

The main goals of epispadias treatment for boys are to:

Make sure the penis works
Fix bends in the penis (dorsal bend and chordee)
Make the penis a good length
Make the penis look normal

If the bladder and bladder neck are affected, surgery will be needed to make sure the child can control his urine. Surgery might also be needed to preserve fertility.

There are two popular types of surgery. Both provide a normal-looking penis that works properly. The surgery is often done while the child is a baby. The type chosen depends on:

The type of epispadias
Surgeon experience
Surgeon preference

Sometimes, boys with the exstrophy-epispadias complex are born with a very underdeveloped penis. In these cases, surgery requires more skill and experience. You may ask your urologist for the name of a specialist.
The Modified Cantwell Technique

The modified Cantwell technique involves “rebuilding” the penis. It takes some of the penis apart to move the urethra to a more normal position.
The Mitchell Technique

The Mitchell technique involves taking the penis apart completely, then putting it back together. This is done so the urethra is in the most functional and normal position, and dorsal bend (chordee) is corrected.
Surgery Options for Girls

Reconstruction in girls is less complex than in boys. The urethra and vagina may be short and near the front of the body. The clitoris may be in 2 parts. The internal female structures – uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries – are usually normal.

If diagnosed at birth, the 2 parts of the clitoris can be brought together and the urethra can be placed in the normal position. If repaired early enough, lack of urinary control (incontinence) may not be a problem.

If the problem isn’t diagnosed early or early repair isn’t done, then incontinence can be surgically corrected when it’s discovered. If the vaginal opening is narrow in older girls or younger women, reconstruction can be done after puberty.
Further Treatment

With the newer methods of surgical repair at birth, almost 1 in 3 children achieve urinary control without other procedures. Children with the exstrophy-epispadias complex may need additional surgery to repair the bladder neck. This is done to improve the strength of the urethra and sphincter. Or, if a child can’t toilet train normally, there are more options.

One way is to inject a bulking material around the bladder neck. This makes the bladder neck thicker so urine can’t leak out.

There are also more complex procedures. One surgery creates a longer urethral tube. Another involves wrapping the bladder neck with a sling.