Meatal Stenosis: How to Care for Your Child
The meatus (mee-AY-tus) is the opening in a boy's penis where the urine (pee) comes out. In meatal stenosis (mee-ATE-ul steh-NO-sis), the meatus is too small.
Meatal stenosis is usually noticed when a boy starts to toilet train and has trouble aiming his pee into the toilet. Meatal stenosis can cause a boy to pee upward, need to pee a lot, or take a long time to get all of the pee out. Sometimes a boy may feel burning when peeing and, rarely, may see a drop of blood in his underwear.
The health care provider talked to you and examined your son. If possible, the health care provider may have watched your son pee to see the direction of the stream. Usually, no other testing is needed.
The treatment for meatal stenosis is a simple procedure to make the opening of the meatus bigger. The procedure (called a meatotomy or meatoplasty) is done by a urologist (a doctor who specializes in problems with the urinary system).
The procedure fixes meatal stenosis for most boys.
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Usually, no special home care is needed. Talk to your health care provider if you have any questions.
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Follow up with the urologist as recommended.
Your son:
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has pain when peeing
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finds it harder to pee
What causes meatal stenosis? Meatal stenosis can happen when irritation causes a scar to form at the meatus. This makes the opening smaller. The irritation may come from rubbing against a diaper, an injury to the penis, or having a catheter (a plastic tube that lets the pee flow out of the body) in place for a long time. Meatal stenosis is more likely to happen in boys who are circumcised.