Penile Length Assessment of Children Treated for Primary Buried Penis: Can Satisfying Penile Growth Always Be Achieved?
Marco Pensabene,
Maria Sergio,
Fabio Baldanza,
Francesco Grasso,
Gregorio Serra,
Benedetto Spataro,
Roberta Bonfiglio,
Maria Patti,
Valentina Maggiore,
Chiara Cambiaso,
Mario Giuffré,
Giovanni Corsello,
Marcello Cimador,
Maria Rita Di Pace
Affiliations
Marco Pensabene
Pediatric Surgical Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Maria Sergio
Pediatric Surgical Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Fabio Baldanza
Pediatric Surgical Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Francesco Grasso
Pediatric Surgical Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Gregorio Serra
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Benedetto Spataro
Pediatric Surgical Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Roberta Bonfiglio
Pediatric Surgical Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Maria Patti
Pediatric Surgical Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Valentina Maggiore
Pediatric Surgical Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Chiara Cambiaso
Pediatric Surgical Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Mario Giuffré
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Giovanni Corsello
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Marcello Cimador
Pediatric Surgical Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Maria Rita Di Pace
Pediatric Surgical Unit, Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, Piazza delle Cliniche, 2, 90127 Palermo, PA, Italy
Primary buried (BP) penis is describes as a small penis caused by a penile ligaments anomaly; it is unclear if a primary BP could reach a normal length. We selected 49 patients treated at our institution between 2015 and 2020 in order to post-operatively evaluate the SPL after one year. SPL was evaluated according to the PH Tanner staging system for pre-pubertal patients according to age-normalized values. A micropenis was detected if the SPL was below 2.5 SD. A normal SPL was found in thirty-two patients, eighteen were in PH Stage 1, four were in PH Stage 2, six were in PH Stage 3, and four were in PH Stage 5. Seventeen patients showed a reduced SPL; in seven of these (four in PH Stage 4 and three in PH Stage 5), their SPL was p = 0.038). A primary BP grows normally during the pre-pubertal period, where patients frequently showed a normal SPL, but it seems to be unable to reach a normal length in the higher PH stages, where the SPL is used to detect a micropenis. We suggest that a primary BP should be considered not as a simple defect of the penile ligaments and surrounding tissues, but as an incomplete manifestation of a micropenis due to a growth slowdown of the organ in late puberty.
