Laser treatment of the urethra and prostate.

For most applications in the urethra, lasers simply represent an alternative to existing technology. Most studies conducted to date can be considered "feasibility studies," ie, they demonstrate that the technique can be performed without clearly showing whether it holds any clear advantages or indications. We have found laser treatment of condyloma acuminata of the urethral meatus as well as more proximal portions of the urethra to be easy and to provide cosmetic results that appear to be superior to those obtained with alternative techniques. In more proximal portions of the urethra, scarring is less than that with an electrocautery and the incidence of treatment induced urethral strictures may be lower with laser. The recurrence rate remains high and is probably unrelated to the device or technique used in treating gross lesions.