As a nurse practitioner at Georgia Urology’s Help Awaiting Wet Kids (HAWK) Clinic, I spend my day seeing kids with voiding problems. A common concern with boys that come to our office is difficulty with urination or an abnormal urinary stream. There are several reasons this can happen, one of which is meatal stenosis, or a narrow urethral opening. My goal today is to briefly provide a definition for meatal stenosis, common causes, and treatment options available within our practice.
Definition
Meatal stenosis is a narrowing of the urethral meatus or opening at the tip of the penis in boys after circumcision.
Symptoms
Urine spraying, or deflected urinary stream.
Irritative voiding symptoms such as frequent urination, urgency, or burning with urination.
Urethral bleeding.
A high pressure, thin urinary stream.
Common Causes
Repetitive inflammation and injury to the tip of the penis, usually caused by rubbing from the diaper.
Diagnosis
To diagnose meatal stenosis, one of our providers may ask to see your child’s urinary stream by watching them void.
Sometimes a special test called a “uroflow” will help in the diagnosis. This test looks at the urine flow rate and is done by having your child urinate into a special toilet.
Treatment Options
Meatal stenosis is corrected with a short surgery, called a meatoplasty.
This is performed in the operating room under anesthesia. The purpose is to make the urethral meatus larger, allowing urine to pass more freely.
If you are concerned your child may be experiencing these urinary symptoms, make an appointment with one of our Nurse Practitioners for further evaluation. Schedule online or call one of our office locations. Plan to have your child arrive with a full bladder as we will need to witness your child void if toilet trained.
On March 30th 2017, the City of Alpharetta presented Georgia Urology with the 2016 Business of Excellence Award during their 5th Annual Business Awards Recognition Breakfast. This event is designed to celebrate the companies that go above and beyond within the community, in particular, those who have received other awards or special distinctions in the […]
Congratulations to Dr. Jerry Yuan for winning “Best Urologist” and Dr. David Banks for receiving “1st Runner Up” in the 2015 Best of North Fulton and South Forsyth.
On Sunday, July 23, 2023, Georgia Urology’s Dr. Michael Kemper returned as the featured guest on “The Weekly Check-Up” on News/Talk WSB Radio. Throughout the show, Dr. Kemper and host Dr. Bruce Feinberg focused on men’s health. They discussed enlarged prostate (BPH), lifestyle changes to prevent bladder problems, and the importance of committing to treatment. […]
