Dr. Antony Robert Charles is the Director & Chief Consultant at KinderSurge, Bengaluru, and a highly respected pediatric surgeon and pediatric urologist with over 25 years of experience. He specialises in pediatric laparoscopy, urological reconstructive surgeries, and neonatal surgical emergencies, delivering advanced, child-focused surgical care.
Internationally trained and deeply committed to ethical medical practice, Dr. Robert is known for combining clinical excellence with compassion. Beyond surgery, he is a TEDx speaker, medical ethicist, and the founder of the ChildFirst Foundation, working to ensure humane, ethical, and world-class healthcare for children.
Dr. Antony Robert Charles – Experienced Best Pediatric Surgeon in Bangalore providing expert surgical care for newborns, children, and adolescents with a compassionate, child-focused approach.
Discovering that your newborn son has hypospadias or an undescended testicle can feel overwhelming. You may have questions, fears, and uncertainty about what lies ahead. The good news is this: both conditions are well understood, highly treatable, and with the right surgeon, outcomes are excellent.
Dr Antony Robert Charles, a specialist paediatric surgeon and urologist in Hebbal, Bangalore, has performed hundreds of hypospadias repairs and orchidopexy procedures. He works with anxious parents every day — explaining everything clearly, performing surgery with precision and care, and guiding your family from diagnosis through to full recovery.
Families travel from Whitefield, Marathahalli, Koramangala, Sarjapur Road, and across Bangalore to trust Dr Antony with their sons’ care. Here is everything you need to know.
Hypospadias is a birth defect in boys where the urinary opening is on the underside of the penis rather than the tip. Undescended testis (cryptorchidism) is when one or both testes have not moved into the scrotum by 6 months of age. Both conditions require surgical correction — hypospadias repair (urethroplasty) and orchidopexy — ideally between 6 and 18 months of age. In Hebbal, Bangalore, Dr Antony Robert Charles is a leading specialist for both procedures.
Hypospadias is one of the most common birth defects affecting boys, occurring in approximately 1 in every 200–300 male births. It happens during foetal development when the urinary tube (urethra) does not fully form along the length of the penis. As a result:
Hypospadias is not caused by anything the mother did or didn’t do during pregnancy. It is a developmental variation, and it is entirely correctable with surgery.
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Not all hypospadias are the same. The location of the urinary opening determines the type:
Type | Opening Location | Complexity |
Glanular / Coronal | Near the tip of the penis | Mild — single stage repair |
Distal Penile | Middle of the penile shaft | Mild to moderate — single stage |
Mid-shaft | Mid-shaft of the penis | Moderate — single stage or two-stage |
Proximal / Penoscrotal | Where penis meets scrotum | Severe — usually two-stage repair |
Perineal | At the base, between scrotum | Severe — two-stage repair |
Many cases are diagnosed at birth during routine newborn examination. However, some parents first notice:
Important: If your newborn has been advised against circumcision at birth, this is often because the foreskin tissue is needed for the hypospadias repair. Do not have your son circumcised before seeing Dr Antony — the foreskin is valuable surgical material.
Hypospadias develops during weeks 8 to 14 of pregnancy, when the urethra is forming. Exact causes are not always identified, but contributing factors include:
There is no single identifiable cause in the majority of cases, and parents should not feel responsible.
Hypospadias is a clinical diagnosis — it is identified by physical examination. No special tests are needed for straightforward cases.
At birth: Most cases are identified during the newborn check by the neonatologist or paediatrician.
Additional investigations may be required when:
Dr Antony reviews each child thoroughly and orders investigations only when clinically necessary.
First 48 Hours:
Days 3–14 (Catheter In Place):
Catheter Removal (Day 7–14):
Weeks 2–6:
Long-Term Outcome: The vast majority of boys after successful hypospadias repair have:
The ideal age for hypospadias repair is 6 to 18 months. At this age:
Single-Stage Repair (TIP — Tubularised Incised Plate Urethroplasty): Used for most distal and mid-shaft hypospadias. In one operation, Dr Antony:
Two-Stage Repair: Required for severe proximal, penoscrotal, or perineal hypospadias:
Stage 2 (6 months later): Urethral tube construction using the grafted tissue
Contact Dr Antony or go to emergency if you notice:
During pregnancy, the testes form inside the abdomen and gradually descend into the scrotum through the inguinal canal. This process should be complete by birth or within the first 3–6 months of life.
When a testicle fails to reach the scrotum, it is called an undescended testis or cryptorchidism — from the Greek words for “hidden testis.”
Note on Retractile Testis: Some boys have a “retractile” testis — one that goes up and down. This is a normal variant but requires annual monitoring to ensure it does not become an ascending testis (one that permanently migrates upward over time).
Physical Examination is the primary diagnostic tool. Dr Antony performs a careful, warm-handed examination to locate the testis.
Ultrasound can locate testes in the inguinal canal but is unreliable for intra-abdominal testes — a negative ultrasound does not rule out an abdominal testis.
Laparoscopy (diagnostic) — if the testis cannot be felt on examination (impalpable testis), laparoscopy is the gold standard to locate and assess it. This is done under general anaesthesia and can often proceed to therapeutic laparoscopic orchidopexy in the same sitting.
Hormonal tests (hCG stimulation test) — occasionally used to confirm the presence of functional testicular tissue when both testes are absent.
The testis may be located at different points along its descent route:
Location | Description | Frequency |
Inguinal canal | Inside the groin, just above the scrotum | Most common (~70%) |
Abdominal | Inside the abdomen, at or near the internal inguinal ring | ~10–15% |
Pre-scrotal | Just above the scrotum | Common, often retractile |
Ectopic | In an abnormal location (inner thigh, perineum) | Rare |
Absent / Vanishing | No testis present — may have been lost in utero | ~5% |
An undescended testis inside the warm abdomen — away from the cooler temperature of the scrotum — is exposed to conditions that damage sperm-producing cells over time. The longer the testis remains undescended, the greater the damage.
Parents from Whitefield, Brookefield, ITPL, and Mahadevapura regularly consult Dr Antony for hypospadias repair and orchidopexy. The clinic is accessible via the Outer Ring Road and is worth the journey for a specialist with Dr Antony’s level of expertise and experience in these delicate procedures.
Many families from Marathahalli, Kundalahalli, and Varthur have trusted Dr Antony Robert Charles with their sons’ urological surgeries. His calm, reassuring approach puts both children and parents at ease through what can feel like a daunting process.
Parents in Koramangala, HSR Layout, Indiranagar, and Jayanagar choose Dr Antony for the combination of specialist expertise, honest communication, and excellent surgical outcomes — especially for redo hypospadias cases referred after complications elsewhere.
Families from Sarjapur Road, Bellandur, and Carmelaram travel to Dr Antony’s Hebbal clinic because specialist-grade paediatric urology care is not uniformly available at all local hospitals. The consultation and surgery experience is consistently described by parents as reassuring and thorough.
For families in Hebbal, Yelahanka, Thanisandra, Kalyan Nagar, and HBR Layout, Dr Antony’s clinic provides local access to genuinely specialist-level paediatric urological surgery — without having to navigate Central Bangalore.
The ideal age for hypospadias repair is 6 to 18 months. Surgery at this age offers the best outcomes — the tissue is pliable, healing is rapid, there is no psychological trauma, and hormonal priming can be used before surgery if needed to increase penile size. Dr Antony Robert Charles recommends early referral so planning can begin from 3 months of age.
A successfully repaired hypospadias does not affect fertility or sexual function. After surgery, the urinary opening is at the tip of the penis, the penis is straight, and normal erection and ejaculation are expected. The key is having the repair performed by an experienced specialist using meticulous techniques to minimise complications and achieve natural-looking results.
It is completely natural to feel anxious, but hypospadias is one of the most successfully treated birth defects in paediatric surgery. With the right surgeon, the correction is reliable, the recovery is quick, and most boys go on to have a completely normal life. An early consultation helps parents understand the condition and plan surgery at the optimal age.
If only one testis is undescended and the other is normal, fertility is usually not significantly affected — especially if orchidopexy is performed early. However, untreated bilateral undescended testes can seriously affect fertility. Early surgery remains the most important protective factor.
Yes — but only up to the age of 6 months. After 6 months, spontaneous descent becomes very unlikely. Delaying treatment beyond this age increases the risk of damage to sperm-producing cells and future complications. Current medical guidelines generally do not recommend routine hormonal therapy due to limited effectiveness.
No, it is not too late. Surgery should still be performed as soon as possible. While the ideal age is before 18 months, orchidopexy in older children still helps reduce long-term risks and preserves testicular function. Early specialist evaluation remains important regardless of age.
Yes. Both hypospadias repair and orchidopexy are performed under general anaesthesia administered by trained paediatric anaesthetists. These procedures are considered very safe in otherwise healthy children. Most children are discharged the same day or after a short overnight stay.
A retractile testis moves temporarily into the groin due to an active cremasteric reflex but can be gently brought back into the scrotum. A true undescended testis cannot be fully positioned within the scrotum. Retractile testes usually do not need surgery but should be monitored regularly as some may become ascending testes over time.
Yes. Revision hypospadias surgery is a specialised area of paediatric urology. Problems such as fistula formation, narrowing of the urinary opening, or urethral strictures can often be corrected successfully using advanced reconstructive techniques, including tissue grafts when necessary.
Dr Antony Robert Charles practises in Hebbal, Bangalore, and is accessible from Whitefield, Marathahalli, Koramangala, Sarjapur Road, and surrounding areas. Families can schedule in-person or teleconsultation appointments for evaluation and treatment planning.
