[The psychosocial/-sexual development of boys with hypospadias].

Boys with hypospadias can suffer from specific psychological stress as a result of genital surgery and a cosmetically and/or functionally impaired penis. During recent decades intensive efforts have been made to improve the surgical techniques; yet the psychosocial and psychosexual development of children and adolescents after hypospadias surgery has only rarely been investigated. While the results of the few studies are altogether very contradictory, they also indicate that hypospadias patients suffer from specific problems like a negative perception of genital appearance. Therefore, they should be offered long-term follow-ups and psychosocial support until they reach young adulthood. For future research, it is necessary to systematically investigate the boys' quality of life and development in methodologically sound studies.