Five-year-old undergoes urethra corrective surgery in UAE

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Five-year-old undergoes urethra corrective surgery in UAE

Dubai - The three-hour surgery was done on April 7 and the patient is currently under recovery.

by

Asma Ali Zain

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Published: Tue 21 May 2019, 8:00 PM

Last updated: Tue 21 May 2019, 10:11 PM

A corrective surgery has been performed on a five-year-old child to put the urethra in its proper place.
"The surgery should have been done earlier at least at the age of a year-and-half," said Dr Muthanna Alrawi, consultant Urologist at Canadian Specialist Hospital, who performed the required corrective surgery.
Simon (name changed) suffered from a congenital defect called Hypospadias- the opening of the urethra is on the underside of the penis instead of at the tip. The urethra is the tube through which urine drains from your bladder and exits your body.
The three-hour surgery was done on April 7 and the patient is currently under recovery.
"It is like a delicate plastic surgery where we had to create a new channel so that the child can pass urine easily," said the doctor while speaking to Khaleej Times.
The occurrence of this condition is rare - one in 250 males - and the condition ranges from mild to severe. "This child's case was moderate to severe," said Dr Alrawi.
He also said that if the condition is not corrected, it can have a negative effect on the health of the person. "In the long run, urination could become difficult, there is a chance of developing infection (UTI), and it also affects male fertility," he added.
The doctor also said that he did not see many such cases in the UAE.
"We need to raise awareness among parents, especially if they notice that the child has one testis which could mean gender assessment needs to be done," said Dr Alrawi.
Dr Alrawi said that extra care is needed after the surgery. "It will take up to six months for full recovery," he said.
The mother of the child Sunshine Esguerra said that he was slowly recovering. "We were told of his condition upon his birth," she said.
"During yearly check-ups, doctors said that the surgery should be done when he would turn seven until Dr Alrawi told us that it was already too late," said Sunshine.
She said though Simon did not have any pain earlier, it was still a defect that needed to be corrected else problems could arise later.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com


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