Utilization of Postpenile Surgery Illustrated Healing Atlas: A Comparative Study

Objective To determine the effect of the postpenile surgery illustrated healing atlas on caregivers' anxiety levels pre- and postoperatively, the frequency of family's postoperative communication with the urology care team, and the number of unplanned emergency room (ER) return for wound checks. Methods A prospective cohort enrolled children who underwent penile surgeries (distal hypospadias repair and phalloplasty) with no concomitant procedures from December 2016 to June 2017. A 6-item short-form Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used to determine baseline and postoperative anxiety levels of the caregivers. Two groups were created: caregivers who did not view the illustrated atlas vs caregivers who were shown the atlas. Baseline characteristics and demographics were compared, along with caregiver's pre- to postoperative anxiety level difference, frequency of postoperative communication, and number of unplanned ER return for wound checks. Results Fifty-four patients were enrolled with 27 families in each group. Baseline characteristics and demographics were comparable with no significant differences. The assessment of the pre- to postoperative anxiety levels in both groups showed no significant differences (median difference −5 [interquartile range −8 to −5] vs −5 [interquartile range −8 to −4], P  = .94). Although no differences were noted for ER-return rates between the groups (18% vs 11.1%, P  = .704), significantly less postoperative calls and e-mails were noted among families who received or viewed the postpenile surgery illustrated healing atlas (51.9% vs 11.1%, P  = .003). Conclusion The utilization of a postpenile surgery illustrated healing atlas as part of the postoperative support provided to families was able to decrease postoperative calls and e-mails.