A scoping review on chordee correction in boys with ventral congenital penile curvature and hypospadias.

INTRODUCTION

Congenital penile curvature (PC), often concomitant with hypospadias, poses challenges in urology. Surgical correction techniques, including plication and corporotomy, lack standardized guidelines. This study aims to address the paucity of high-level evidence by comprehensively reviewing the outcomes of PC correction procedures in patients with and without hypospadias. This will inform clinical decision-making and provide insights for future research and meta-analyses.

METHODS

We conducted this scoping review in accordance with the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis and PRISMA-ScR guidelines. An extensive literature search was performed and comparative studies published in English up to June 2023 were included. The studies were divided into three categories: PC without hypospadias, PC with hypospadias, and studies comparing two or more materials for covering the ventral corporotomy. Data extraction comprised author details, patient characteristics, study design, interventions, outcomes, and complications. Methodological quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

RESULTS

Forty-two studies were included in the review, which collectively comprised 3180 patients. Thirteen comparative studies reported the outcomes of surgery for congenital PC without hypospadias, 22 studies compared different techniques of PC correction in patients with hypospadias and 7 studies compared the type of materials for coverage following ventral corporotomy. In cases of PC without hypospadias, the most commonly reported surgery was the Nesbit's plication. For PC with hypospadias correction, the results of ventral corporotomy were superior to that of dorsal plication in most of the studies. The two-stage repair had better results when compared to the one-stage repair for patients with perineo-scrotal hypospadias. In studies comparing materials for coverage of ventral corporotomy, the tunica vaginalis flap or graft was utilized most commonly. The majority of the studies reported a success rate ranging from 85% to 100%. The methodological quality was high in all but four studies.

CONCLUSION

Plication procedures are generally preferred for PC without hypospadias, but they result in penile shortening. For those with hypospadias, corporotomy is associated with superior outcomes than plication, especially for those with severe curvature and redo procedures. For ventral corporotomy coverage, the tunica vaginalis flap or graft is the most commonly reported tissue in the literature.