Outcome analysis of the modified Mathieu hypospadias repair: Comparison of stented and unstented repairs

Purpose: We compared surgical outcomes of stented and unstented Mathieu repairs in boys with primary distal hypospadias, and evaluated the efficacy and safety of caudal analgesia relative to other forms of analgesia (penile block and epidural analgesia). Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 336 consecutive boys who underwent the modified Mathieu repair for primary distal hypospadias. a urethral stent was placed in 114 patients and nonstented repair was performed in 222, Adjunct caudal analgesia was given in 136 cases, a penile block in 158 and continuous-epidural analgesia in 42. Results: None of the unstented cases had urinary retention. Analysis of surgical outcomes revealed no difference in fistula formation between patients with and without stents (2.63 versus 2.70%, respectively, p > 0.999). Overall complication rates in the stented and unstented groups were not significantly different (2.63 versus 3.60%, respectively, p = 0.756). The fistula rate in patients who received adjunct caudal analgesia was no different than in those who received other forms of adjunct analgesia (2.21 versus 3.0%, respectively, p > 0.999). Conclusions: These data suggest that successful Mathieu hypospadias repair is independent of the use of a stent. Caudal analgesia, a penile block and epidural analgesia provided effective postoperative pain control with no difference in complication rates, To our knowledge our report represents the largest observational study reported to date comparing stented and unstented repairs, However, because of the small number of complications in each group, a much larger study is required to determine statistically significant differences among these groups.