South Africa Hypospadias Workshop

At Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Division of Urology, our relationships with our professional colleagues are critical to the care we provide to children and families.

A group of six international pediatric urologists and surgeons met at the Hypospadias International Society meeting in Sao Paolo in the fall of 2022. The meeting achieved its intended target, which is to bring surgeons of varying experience together to exchange ideas. This specific group of six individuals proposed a trip to Johannesburg as a way to expand beyond the walls of a meeting into live surgical experience for hands-on training.

CHOP Attending Pediatric Urologist Christopher Long, MD, was one of three international faculty that led a course on hypospadias June 12-15, 2023, at Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. The workshop was put together by professor Tarryn Gabler, a pediatric surgeon who specializes in hypospadias in Johannesburg. Additional faculty included Peter Cuckow from London, UK, and Nico Lourens from Pretoria, SA.

The local surgeons had screened records and prepared 18 patients — most of which had severe hypospadias — who were operated upon as part of the live course. More than 40 local surgeons attended the workshop. There was lively discussion during the procedures, which were live streamed to the audience along with the morning didactic lectures. Topics for discussion included the principles of distal hypospadias repairs, including tips and tricks to improve surgical outcomes, as well as methods to improve outcomes in proximal hypospadias repair.

This was an excellent opportunity for us to share what we’ve learned with our experience at CHOP, but also to learn from our local SA colleagues and from the UK. A variety of techniques were utilized to treat these complex patients. We remained in contact with the local surgeons and the recovery process has been as expected to date. In addition, the surgeries were recorded, which will facilitate further education beyond the course.

We plan to return for a repeat workshop next year to further advance the relationship with our South Africa colleagues and continue to collaborate to improve the care delivery to their patients. Learn more at https://witspaedcongress.org.za.