[Congenital urethral strictures].

We present 12 patients with presumed congenital urethral stricture (mean age at diagnosis 20 years). They complained of various urological symptoms, including dysuria, transient urinary retention, urgency and reduced flow. The time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis averaged 18 months. The strictures were presumed congenital because no patient had a history of urethral infection or of instrumentation, and all the strictures were at the proximal bulbar urethra, as has been described for congenital, bulbar, urethral stricture. We treated 5 patients initially by internal urethrotomy, of whom 2 required transurethral dilatation at follow-up. 7 others were treated initially by transurethral dilatation, 4 of whom required more than 1 treatment. Follow-up has averaged 21 months. In 8 of 10 patients the maximal urinary flow at latest follow-up is greater than 20 ml/sec.