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Urethral Strictures
The most common abnormality seen in the adult male urethra is a stricture, or a scar, that narrows the caliber of the urethra. This narrowing makes urination difficult and often leads to bladder decompensation, infections, and stones. The most common place to find a stricture is in the bulbar urethra, the part that men sit on, closest to the prostate and bladder. Usually, no cause for the stricture is found, but the most common causes are straddle injuries, or previous catherization or instrumentation. A rarer but problematic inflammatory condition known as balanitis xerotica obliterans can also cause urethral strictures which carries increased risk for cancer.
The symptoms of a urethral stricture are a slow urinary stream and dribbling after urination. The most common method to diagnose a stricture is to perform cystoscopy and look into the urethra for a narrowing. To aid in planning treatment, sometimes a special x-ray called a retrograde urethrogram is performed.
The main difficulty in treating urethral strictures is that they have the tendency to recur, and the likelihood of recurrence relates very much to the type of treatment used to eradicate the problem. Urethral dilation is the easiest and simplest way to treat the stricture. Here, the stricture is stretched to a larger size, and this can often be done in the office. The problem is that the stricture will recur to some degree.
The most definitive way to treat urethral strictures is with surgery. Here, the diseased urethra is reconstructed with healthy tissue such as penile skin or the lining of the cheek. This is much more involved than dilation or incision, and requires a short hospital stay and catheterization for at least a week. However, urethral reconstruction is far more definitive than the other options listed above. Recurrence rate is typically less than 10%.
Doctors with expertise in incontinence, bladder suspension ("bladder lift") and sling procedures, kidney stones, no needle no scalpel vasectomy, vasectomy reversal, laparoscopy and laparoscopic kidney and prostate surgery, prostate diseases including cancer and enlarged prostate, cryoablation (or cryotherapy) of prostate and kidney, robotic (da Vinci) prostate surgery
Adult and pediatric urology, urologic surgery, in Orange County California
Serving Orange, Tustin, Irvine, Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Anaheim
Our urology office/urologists accept most major insurance including Medicare, Anthem Blue Cross, Health Net, United Health, Aetna, Cigna, Blue Shield, Pacificare
The information on this site is solely for purposes of general patient education, and may not be relied upon as a substitute for professional medical care. Consult your own physician for evaluation and treatment of your specific condition.
Associated Urologists of Orange County
State-of-the-Art
UROLOGY AND UROLOGIC SURGERY
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