My grandson had a hypospadias repair at 9 months of age. He is now 6 years old and wets his bed every night. Do you think these two issues are related?
Thanks.
Concerned Grandma
A) Dear Concerned Grandma:
It is very unlikely if everything had been going ok up until now. The repair of a hypospadias simply allows the stream of urine to leave the penis normally. Complications for a young child usually include infections which would present with pain with urination and sometimes incontinence day and night, and strictures which would present as difficulty going. Later in life there can sometimes be sexual issues but obviously that is not a concern in a 6 year old. More times than not, bed wetting in kids ends up being it’s own issue but you’d want to talk to your pediatrician who can help you sort that out. A simple urine test would be helpful and perhaps a call into your grandson’s urologist.
In the meantime, for the bedwetting, start with limiting fluids after bed time and waking your grandson up when you go to bed to get him to void and see if that helps. Often bedwetting is a matter of a child sleeping soundly and not feeling the urge to go. Keep in mind that many children his age still wet the bed at night which is why you see so many pull-ups for this age group. And, most out grow this naturally. Your pediatrician will help guide you to what to expect given your grandson's situation.
Dr. Gwenn
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