Pioneering technique at KGMU cures Hardoi boy of birth defect

LUCKNOW: After eight failed operations at a reputable private hospital in Delhi, a 12-year-old boy from Hardoi with a penile birth defect underwent a successful reconstructive surgery at King George’s Medical University. Paediatric surgeons used a pioneering technique based on magnetic resonance imaging or MRI to operate on the child on August 19. He was discharged on Wednesday.
According to doctors, the boy was born with the congenital condition called hypospadias in which the opening of the urethra (the tube through which urine drains from the bladder and exits the body) is on the underside of the penis instead of at the tip.
Hypospadias is not uncommon. When certain hormones that stimulate the formation of urethra in a male foetus malfunction, it results in this genetic condition. Symptoms after birth include downward curve of the penis (as in this case) and abnormal spraying during urination, among others.
Parents of the Hardoi boy thought the deformity would cure by itself once he grew up. When it didn’t and the child began facing problems in school, they took him to the private hospital in Delhi. Between 2015 and 2017, he underwent eight surgeries that cost them around Rs 8 lakh. “But, his condition did not improve. Someone told us about KGMU’s paediatrics department. We brought him here in January. The treatment cost us only Rs 50,000,” said his businessman father.
Head paediatrics surgery at KGMU professor SN Kureel said a medical assessment revealed that of the four veins in the affected region of the boy’s penis, only one was functional. “That made it a complicated case. But, we took up the challenge and performed a one-time reconstructive surgery,” he said.
Conventionally, Kureel said, doctors perform reconstructive surgery without taking into account micro-veins. As a result, these veins get damaged affecting the flow of blood and increasing chances of infection. “However, we used MRI to identify the micro-veins, which were protected during the surgery. The technique was developed by us and so far, we have conducted 150 successful surgeries,” Kureel added.