Therapeutic Effect of Internal Urethrotomy in Post-traumatic Complete Urethral Stricture

Kim, Young Joo; Lee, Choong Hyun; Lee, Sun Ju

Abstract

PURPOSE: Visual internal urethrotomy is a standard therapy for incomplete urethral stricture, and may also be a reasonable initial treatment for a complete urethral stricture of less than 1cm. However, it has not yet been determined which length is most suitable for an internal urethrotomy of a complete urethral stricture. To answer this question, we retrospectively assessed the success rate and complications of an internal urethrotomy as an initial treatment for a complete urethral stricture.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Between January 1991 and December 2000, an internal urethrotomy was performed on 28 patients for a complete urethral stricture. A primary successful result was defined as; a patient requiring only one operation, and a peak flow rate of more than 15ml/s. A secondary successful result was defined as; no recurrences within six months, and peak flow rate of more than 15ml/s.1,2
RESULTS
A primary successful result was seen in 73.3 and 15.4% of patients, with a urethral stricture of less than, and greater than 2cm, respectively. A secondary successful result was seen in 100 and 92.3% of the patients with a urethral stricture of less than (average number of operation: 1.4 times), and greater than 2cm (average number of operation: 2.8 times), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, we found that a visual internal urethrotomy might be considered, not only as an initial method of treatment when a complete urethral stricture is less than 2cm, but also as a possible method of treatment when a stricture is more than 2cm.