Complications of Tubularized Incised-Plate (TIP) Urethroplasty in Anterior Hypospadias Repair: Interrupted VS Continuous Suture

Introduction: Hypospadias is a congenital defect that affects the development of the urethra in males, causing the urethral opening to be located on the underside of the penis rather than at the tip. Repair of hypospadias is a surgical procedure that aims to create a normal-appearing and functional penis that allows for normal urination. The tubularized incised-plate (TIP) technique is a widely used surgical approach for correcting distal hypospadias. TIP urethroplasty can be performed using either continuous or interrupted suture techniques. The present study aims to compare the complications of these two techniques in TIP urethroplasty for the repair of hypospadias. Aim of the Study: The aim of the study was to compare the complication rate among continuous and interrupted suture in TIP urethroplasty for anterior hypospadias repair. Methods: This Prospective Randomized comparative study was conducted at the Department of Pediatric Surgery, Bangladesh Shishu Hospital & Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The study duration was 5 years, from July 2017 to June 2022. After some drop-out patients, a total of 68 patients had been left, with Group-1 having 35 continuous suture TIP urethroplasty, and Group-2 having 33 interrupted sutures TIP urethroplasty. Result: The mean age of participants was 41.15±24.46 months in Group-1 and 38.05±25.14 months in Group-2. The mean weight of participants was 17.79±6.37 kg and 19.14±9.19 kg in Group-1 and Group-2 respectively. Operation time in group 1 and group 2 was 66.86±3.51 minutes and 79.38±5.04 minutes respectively, with statistically significant difference. But none of the post-operative complications had significant difference between the groups. Conclusion: The study showed that although operative time was significantly lower among patients undergoing continuous suture for TIP urethroplasty instead of interrupted suture TIP urethroplasty, the overall complications rate had no significant difference between the groups.