Which Are the Commonest Sites and Characteristics of Post-Transurethral Prostate Surgery Strictures in a High-Volume Reconstructive Center?

Background

Urethral stricture is a well-known complication after transurethral prostate surgery (TPS) and it is usually considered an easy-to-treat condition. We aimed to examine characteristics of post-TPS urethral stricture cases that were referred for urethroplasty at our tertiary center.

Methods

We identified 201 patients with TPS-induced stricture treated with urethroplasty at our institution from 2017 to 2021. First, stricture length and location were evaluated during preoperative assessment. Second, multiple sets of multivariable logistic regression (MLR) analyses were run to assess whether clinical variables were associated with the location of the stricture.

Results

Median stricture length was 5 cm (4-7). One hundred forty-one (70.1%) patients received previous no-invasive treatments (dilatation and/or direct visual internal urethrotomy). Proximal bulbar urethra was the commonest site for stricture, whereas panurethral stricture (≥10 cm) was diagnosed in 41 (20.4%) patients. Lichen sclerosus was more common in patients with penile stricture location, compared with patients with other involved segments (26% vs 19%, p = 0.03), and it was the only predictor of penile and midbulbar urethra location at MLR. Surgical approaches were augmented urethroplasty in 94% of patients, especially for patients with previous treatment including urethroplasty (95.8% vs 82.5% for naive, p = 0.004). Dorsal onlay was the preferred approach for bulbar (53.4%) and penile urethra (90.7%), whereas ventral onlay (38.2%) and double face augmentation (20.6%) were the preferred approaches in membranous strictures.

Conclusions

Most patients who were referred for TPS-induced stricture attempted previous noninvasive managements. Referred TPS-induced urethral strictures were long and frequently involving multiple segments of urethra. Augmentation urethroplasty was our preferred surgical approach because of the characteristics and complexity of these strictures. The presence of lichen may increase the risk of post-TPS stricture in a specific segment of urethra, namely the penile and midbulbar urethra.