Summary
Introduction
Penile length is an important indicator of male sexual development. Scarce data were
reported on penile length measurements in children comparing changes between prepuberty
and puberty for the small penile issue with long-term follow-up.
Objective
The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of catch-up growth of
the penile length of boys with a small penis in the long-term follow-up.
Study design
From April 2001 to December 2016, 27 boys who visited the outpatient clinic owing
to a small penis, without any chromosomal anomalies and other genital disorder, were
investigated retrospectively. Micropenis is defined as 2.5 standard deviations less
than the mean stretched penile length (SPL) of age. Periodic penile length, testicular
volume, hormonal levels (serum testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating
hormone (FSH)), and bone age were measured. Pubertal development was recorded by using
the Tanner scale. The effect of hormonal therapy and the factors attributable to the
increment of the penile length were evaluated.
Results
The mean age at the first visit was 9.8 years (5–12 years) and that at puberty was
12.6 years (10–16 years). The length of the penis at the initial visit was 4.0 ± 0.8 cm
(2.5–6.0) and at puberty, 7.3 ± 1.8 cm (4.0–12.0). Nine patients diagnosed with micropenis
no longer had a micropenis in puberty. The less the age-matched SPL, the more the
increment of SPL that was observed (rho = - 0.548, P = 0.003). The mean increment
of SPL in the hormonal therapy group (11 boys) and the non-hormonal therapy group
(16 boys) was not statistically different (43.5 ± 22. 9% vs 41.5 ± 21.6%, respectively,
P = 0.497).
Discussion
This study explains how much the growth of a small penis catches up in puberty. From
the point of view of the increment of SPL, the increment was higher in boys who belonged
to the smaller penis group. Hormonal therapy does not attribute to an increase in
the length after long-term follow-up. Limitations of this study were its retrospective
origin with a small number of patients in a single center.
Conclusion
Catch-up growth of the small penis at puberty was accomplished in most children with
a small penis before puberty. Hormonal treatment was not significantly correlated
with the penile length increment in the long-term follow-up.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 22, 2019
Accepted:
July 11,
2019
Received:
April 15,
2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Journal of Pediatric Urology Company. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
