One - staged reconstruction of bladder exstrophy in male patients: long - term follow-up outcomes

INTRODUCTION The surgical correction of bladder exstrophy remains challenging. In our institution, the repair has evolved from a staged repair to one-stage reconstruction. The one-stage reconstruction includes; bladder closure, Cantwell-Ransley neourethroplasty and abdominoplasty using groin flaps, without the need of pelvic ostheotomies. Repair of urinary continence (UC) and vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is done after development of the infant. OBJECTIVE To present our experience of our modified one-stage reconstruction of bladder exstrophy in male patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS Medical records of male patients submitted to one-stage reconstruction of bladder exstrophy were analyzed retrospectively. Fifteen exstrophy bladder patients with mean age 4.2±7 years were treated at our institution between 1999-2013. RESULTS Eleven patients were referred to us after previous surgery. Sixteen procedures were performed; one patient had complete wound dehiscence and needed another reconstruction (6.7%). Mean follow up was 10.3±4.5 years. No patient has had a loss of renal function. Postoperative complications: four patients (26.6%) presented small fistulas, one presented penile rotation. Eleven patients (73.3%) patients underwent bladder-neck surgery. Five (33.3%) required bladder augmentation. Three cases (20%) needed subsequent treatment of VUR. At the time of our review nine (60%) patients achieved UC, two (13.3 %) patient without additional procedure. A mean of 3±1.1 procedures (2-5) was accomplished per children. CONCLUSIONS One-stage reconstruction minimizes the number of surgical procedures required to achieve UC and potentiates bladder-neck function. The advantages of using groin flaps over current techniques for complete repair are the small risk for penile tissue loss and the avoidance of ostheotomies.