Although Dr. Snodgrass was taught to repair hypospadias using flap techniques, he abandoned these flap repairs many years ago due to high complication rates. Unfortunately, many surgeons still perform flap hypospadias repairs throughout the United States and the world today. Flap repairs involve moving penile skin to create the urine channel while it is still attached to surrounding tissues. This is different than graft repairs. Graft repairs such as STAG use tissues like penile skin or oral mucosa that are disconnected from surrounding tissues and replaced in their new position. It is important to know if your surgeon is recommending flap or graft repairs for proximal hypospadias.
Editorial Comment to Classic Articles in Pediatric Urology: Island Flap Technique for Hypospadias Repair and MAGPI (Meatoplasty and Glansplasty) Procedure for Subcoronal Hypospadias.