(344) The Surgical Outcome of Buried Penis Surgery

Buried penis is a condition where the penis retracts and becomes hidden beneath the skin. It has a significant impact on quality of life of the patient and can present with a variety of symptom including lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile dysfunction. Whilst there are several causes, obesity is the most common in adults.

The aim of this study is to assess the variety of different operations performed with patient and surgeon satisfaction rates.

This is a retrospective study on patients with a buried penis operated on between 2010 and 2020. Data retrieved included presenting complaints, previous surgery, co-morbidities, surgical details and patient and surgeon satisfaction rates with cosmesis.

A total of 141 patients were recruited with buried penis (median age 54, range 20-80). The presenting complaints were inability to void standing n = 30, erectile dysfunction n = 18, small penis n = 94. Aetiological factors included diabetes n=47, vascular disease n=62, penile cancer surgery n= 3 and BXO n= 13. The BMI was recorded in 44 patients (range 23-52) with 7 being morbidly obese (BMI >40). 47 patients had only a weight was recoded with a median of 114kg (range 68-169kgs). A total of 96 (68%) patients had had previous surgery prior to referral and in particular circumcision in 49 patients. The operations performed on the 141 patients were circumcision n=40, scrotoplasty n=35, V-Y plasty n=11, skin grafting n=34, suprapubic fat pad excision n=77, abdominoplasty n=25, malleable penile prosthesis n=7, inflatable prostheses n=7 and division of suspensory ligament n=24. The post-operative length of stay was median 3 days (range 0-52 days) but for abdominoplasty and grafting this was a median of 5 days (range 1-52 days). There were 27 complications (19%); infections (n=15), dehiscence (n=5), haematomas (n=2) The mean follow up was 506 days (range 0-4313 days) with a surgical satisfaction rate of 87% and patient satisfaction of 79%. Of note the highest dissatisfaction occurred in patients having circumcision or suprapubic fat pad removal.

Buried penis is a complex condition with patients likely requiring a combination of surgical techniques. Circumcision alone usually does not treat the problem and may make things worse. A prolonged hospital stay with significant wound complications may occur but the majority of patients are happy with the final outcome.

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