Hypospadia in females

Hypospadia is a frequent birth deformity consisting in fissure of the posterior (lower) wall of the urethra. Hypospadia is characterized by shortening of the urethra and ectopia of the external urethral opening. This deformity often occurs in women but is rarely diagnosed because physicians are not well-informed about female hypospadia. Classification of anatomic variants of female hypospadia proposed by the authors includes low vaginal ectopia of the external urethral opening; high vaginal ectopia of the external opening of the urethra; urovaginal (vesicovaginal) fusion of the neck of the urinary bladder with vagina accompanied with enuresis; urogenital sinus in females (ectopia of the external urethral opening in the urogenital sinus); any of the above variants of female hypospadia in combination with false or true hermaphroditism. All the variants of female hypospadia must be surgically corrected as transposition of the external opening of the urethra from the vagina on the perineum under the clitoris in chronic urethritis, cystitis and vulvovaginitis or as urethroplasty in enuresis. Hypospadia, urogenital sinus and hermaphroditism--three anomalies of human urogenital system--combine rather frequently.