I am a 52-year-old man born with hypospadias. I have no bending of the penis, but the urethral opening is on the underside of the glans. I have never had any problems passing urine and have a normal sex life, but I have always been aware that I was different. I was always afraid that I might get an erection in the showers in front of other teenage boys while I was in high school. I knew if this happened it would be noticed.

I have been married twice, and neither wife has had any problems with it. I have noticed that it seems like most of the stories I have read from other men with hypospadias seem to indicate that most men with this defect have smaller penises. Mine is about 5 1/2 inches long and about one and one-quarter inch in diameter. I am very self-conscious about the small size.

I also suffer from social anxiety and I always felt very inferior in school. These feelings continue today, and I am not sure if this condition has anything to do with it, but the fact that I was different has bothered me since I was old enough to know that my penis was not like the rest of the boys’. I have always wondered if there are any other men in my area of the country who have hypospadias.

Ron