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Hypospadias surgery: understanding parental emotions, decisions and regrets

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 35, pages 67–71 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

This paper builds an argument about genital surgery in the context of medical treatment of children and young people with variations in sex characteristics. First, I set out what is known from existing research including psychological research, surgical follow-up studies and parental regret studies. Second, I present an analysis of surgeons’ talk about children, young people and parents in relation to genital surgery. This paper focuses most specifically on hypospadias surgery, but the argumentation is relevant for other kinds of genital surgery carried out in the context of genital variations. The questions guiding this paper are: what research evidence supports hypospadias surgery and what research evidence brings this surgery into question? How might a new interpretation of the evidence, in light of psychosocial research and human rights concerns, contribute to a new perspective on elective genital surgery on minors with variations in sex characteristics? I draw out implications for clinicians supporting parents to decide whether a surgical pathway is the best option for their child.

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Acknowledgements

I acknowledge collaborators in the SENS research: Lih-Mei Liao, Peter Hegarty, Tove Lundberg and Sarah Creighton.

Funding

The University of Oslo provided funding for research interviews.

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  1. School of Social Sciences, University of Waikato, Aotearoa, New Zealand

    Katrina Roen

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  1. Katrina Roen
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KR was responsible for researching and writing every aspect of this article.

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Correspondence to Katrina Roen.

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Roen, K. Hypospadias surgery: understanding parental emotions, decisions and regrets. Int J Impot Res 35, 67–71 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-021-00508-6

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