Morgantown, W.Va.-based WVU Medicine has recorded promising results from a yearslong initiative to reduce a common surgical complication among pediatric urology patients.
The effort focused on hypospadias, a common birth defect that affects about 1 in every 200 births. Surgery can correct the condition, but between 5% and 10% of these procedures result in urethrocutaneous fistula, the health system said in a May 13 post. The complication typically requires more surgery.
Osama Al-Omar, MD, chief of pediatric urology at WVU Medicine, developed a technique to avert the surgical complication. Rather than using one or two tissue flaps — the standard approach — Dr. Al-Omar created a novel technique using three layers of well-vascularized tissue flaps, according to the health system.
The technique resulted in zero urethrocutaneous fistula complications among more than 60 consecutive cases. Dr. Al-Omar’s findings are published in the Journal of Pediatric Urology.
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