Opening in the wrong place on the penis

Normally, the opening of the urethra (the tube for urine and semen) is at the end of the penis, in the middle of its head (glans). About 1 in every 300 males is born with the opening on the underside, and the middle of the glans just has a blind dimple. This is called hypospadias. It tends to run in families; if one child has hypospadias, his brothers have a 1 in 20 chance of also having it.

In 65% of men with hypospadias, the opening is on the underside of the head of the penis, near where it joins the shaft, but it can be anywhere along the underside of the shaft or even at the root of the penis near the testicles. If the opening is on the shaft, the end of the penis may bend when it is erect; this does not occur if the opening is near the head. The foreskin is often abnormal as well; part of it is missing on the underside of the penis, so it looks like a hood.

Effects of hypospadias

Hypospadias does not make you incontinent because the urine flow is controlled by the neck of the bladder, which is higher up inside the body. However, it can make it difficult to direct the stream of urine accurately, and some men with this condition choose to sit down when they pass urine.

Treatment of hypospadias

Severe hypospadias, where the opening is on the shaft or near the testicles, will have been noticed at birth, and will have been put right by an operation at the age of 12–18 months. Babies with slight hypospadias, where the opening is on the head of the penis, not far from the dimple, do not always have an operation. If you have hypospadias that was not operated on, but which bothers you because of the appearance of the foreskin or because you cannot control the direction of the urine stream, ask your family doctor to refer you to a urological surgeon who will be able to give you more information and discuss the options. Seeing a surgeon does not commit you to having an operation.

Written by: Dr Margaret Stearn
Edited by: Dr Margaret Stearn
Last updated: Saturday, September 3rd 2011

Do you have to sit down to urinate, or find it difficult to pee in a straight line? In part 3 of Dr Phil Hammond's penis trilogy, he discusses what happens when your peehole is in the wrong place and what you can do about it. Click on the video below to find out more.

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Comments on this article

Posted by GF on 12/08/2011 at 05:04

I am with a slightly older man right now, and i think this is what he is going through. it does not really bother me at all, but i know its really bothering him. is there any way that i can make him feel more comfortable and relax?? i dont want his to feel about about something he had no control over.

Posted by Optiona on 24/06/2011 at 04:36

my sons hole is on the tip but farther down n its to big i was told would it b from him bein circumsized

Posted by Optional on 19/04/2011 at 03:05

my son spoke to me about an issue that he wanted to share. he showed me his penis, and on him pulling back his foreskin he showed me that the opening was on the underside of his penis. it is located on the head quite near to where most openings are but he /we are still concerned about it. do we need to refer him on to our GP for referral to a urological surgeon. he doesn't complain about urine accuracy or of any pain.

Posted by Optional on 14/09/2010 at 10:57

could you tell me that hypospadias effects the sex life????????

Posted by Optional on 12/09/2010 at 07:36

when i open my penis it become difficult to do. Due to joint of skin of head and penis skin. It gives me pain to do musterbsin.

Posted by loving wife need's help on 10/08/2010 at 12:40

kind of odd but,my husband had surgery about 17 years ago,where his skin was covering over his penis,so they cut him & made a new peehole under his penis,well didnt bother us for awhile but the older I get the harder it is on me to have sex with him,lord knows i cant tell him cause hes been shamed enough over this thing,it's never bothered me one bit,I love him..

Posted by Ryan on 19/03/2010 at 03:00

I have had to live all my life with mild hypospadias & that hood. Too late to have it corrected now but I missed out on love, marriage etc.