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For most kids, going to the doctor ranks right up there with slogging through homework and cleaning their room — they’d rather be doing just about anything else. But 4-year-old Jake Gresis doesn’t mind traveling from his home in Virginia to see Dr. Richard Yu, director of the Robotic Surgery Program in the Department of Urology at Boston Children’s Hospital. “He always looks forward to coming to Boston,” says his mom, Wendy. “He’s well aware of what Dr. Yu has done for him.” …
Recurrent UTIs in boys: When should you worry?
We tend to think of urinary tract infections, or UTIs, as a predominantly female problem — and it’s true that they tend to be much more common in girls. This is largely due to their anatomy, which can make it easier for bacteria — typically E. coli from the colon — to enter the urethra, bladder and other parts of the urinary tract. Yet even though they’re much less likely to develop these infections, boys aren’t immune from UTIs. …
What parents should know about hypospadias
It’s one of the most common birth defects, affecting an estimated 1 out of 200 boys. But most parents aren’t aware of hypospadias until their child is diagnosed with it. In this condition, the opening of a boy’s urethra (through which both urine and semen pass) is located on the underside of his penis rather than at the tip of it. In about 80 percent of boys with hypospadias, this opening is found near the end of the penis. Fifteen percent of those boys also have a condition called chordee, in which the penis curves downward to varying degrees. Hypospadias is usually diagnosed at birth, but severe cases are increasingly being diagnosed in utero with ultrasonography. …
Private Parts II: More things parents of boys need to know
While it can be uncomfortable for parents to talk about issues with their son’s private parts, abnormalities in the testicles and scrotum are common and treatable.
One of my favorite parts of my job is sitting down with anxious families and being able to make the uncomfortable comfortable for them. I hope I can do that for you here in this guide to the most common testicular abnormalities seen in young boys. …