[Buccal mucosa graft augmented anastomotic urethroplasty for the treatment of bulbar urethral strictures].

OBJECTIVE

To report our outcomes with the use of buccal mucosal graft anastomotic urethroplasty to reconstruct complex anterior urethral strictures.

METHODS

Between October 2007 and January 2011 we conducted a retrospective review of a series of 65 patients from 2 different centers. We analyzed demographic data, surgical outcomes and complications.

RESULTS

Patient mean age was 50.09 years (range: 25 to 75), mean stricture length was 3.95 cm (range: 3 to 7 cm) and mean follow-up 33.13 months (range: 12.7 to 52.77). Eighty percent of patients had prior treatments, mainly direct visual internal urethrotomy (DVIU) and urethral dilatation. Most frequent etiologies were iatrogenic in 46.15% of patients and idiopathic in 35.38% of patients. Success rate was achieved in 96.92% of patients; only 2 patients presented recurrence and were treated successfully with one DVIU. Clavien Dindo I-II complications were found in 59% of patients. No patient had chronic sequels.

CONCLUSION

Augmented anastomotic urethroplasty using dorsal onlay buccal mucosa graft enables correction, in one time, of long segment urethral strictures with severe spongiofibrosis and/or obliterated lumen. Our outcomes are comparable with those of previously reported in international series.