The effect of zinc sulfate on penile corpus spongiosum after hypospadias repair in rats: A stereological study.

Hypospadias repair involves correcting urethra defects and improving the wound healing process. Zinc has been well accepted as an effective agent in wound healing. This study aimed to investigate the effect of zinc on corpus spongiosum after experimental hypospadias in rats. The animals were divided into three groups. The control group rats underwent general anesthesia, but did not receive any surgeries and treatments. The second and third groups underwent surgeries and respectively received Distilled Water (DW, 2 ml) and zinc sulfate solution (2 ml, containing 4 mg zinc sulfate) by gavages twice a day for 14 days. Stereological methods were used to quantify the corpus spongiosum tissue. The volumes of corpus spongiosum, spongy tissue, urethral lumens, urethral epithelium, and collagen bundles and the number of fibroblasts were respectively amplified by 28%, 40%, 36%, 48%, 40%, and 29% in the surgery + zinc sulfate group in comparison to the surgery + DW group (p < 0.02). It can be concluded that consumption of 4 mg/day zinc sulfate for 14 days could improve the healing of hypospadias through increasing the population of fibroblasts, producing collagen bundles, and building a wider lumen and more epithelized urethra.