After eight failed surgeries, boy with congenital defect finds cure at KGMU, Lucknow

After eight unsuccessful surgeries at a multi-speciality hospital in Gurgaon, a 12-year-old boy suffering from hypospadias (a birth defect in which urethral orifice

After eight unsuccessful surgeries at a multi-speciality hospital in Gurgaon, a 12-year-old boy suffering from hypospadias (a birth defect in which urethral orifice is on the underside of penis) finally found the cure at the King George’s Medical University (KGMU) of Lucknow -- that too in just one operation.

HT Image

“The patient’s first surgery took place in 2015, at a cost of ₹1.5 lakh. Subsequently, the boy underwent seven surgeries and his parents spent over ₹8 lakh. However, the correction could not be performed,” said Prof SN Kureel, head of paediatric surgery at KGMU, who conducted the procedure.

Prof Kureel has developed a single-stage surgical technique to treat this congenital problem.

He said that his technique had 100% success rate. “Medical (urology) literature across the world shows 10-50% failure rate in the surgery required to cure this problem, which is reported in one in 500 live births. However, we at KGMU have not failed,” he said.

The boy, who underwent the procedure on August 19, was discharged on Wednesday and would soon go back to Hardoi with his parents, said the doctor.

He said that he was teaching his method to surgeons across the globe. “But at present, only two surgeons are capable of performing this procedure in a single sitting,” he said.

“I hope more surgeons pick up this technique so that children born with the deformity get speedy treatment. As the precision level needed for this is very high, not many surgeons are able to pick up the method easily,” said Prof Kureel, who has been invited for deliberations on his surgical method to different places across the world.

He said he had been performing this operation since 2009.

Dr Archika Gupta and Dr Rahul Kumar were also a part of the operating team.