Dorsal versus ventral anterior urethral spatulation in posterior urethroplasty.

PURPOSE: To compare dorsal versus ventral anterior urethral spatulation in posterior urethroplasty.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

In a retrospective study, we evaluated the records of 320 posterior urethroplasties which have been done in our center over a 7-year period from January 2000 to December 2006. The results of dorsal and ventral anterior urethral spatulations were compared.

RESULTS

The studied subjects consisted of 264 men and 54 prepubescent boys (≤ 15 years) with the mean age of 23 years (range, 5 to 84 years). The mean follow-up was 52 months (range, 27 to 107 months). Six o'clock (group A) and 12 o'clock (group B) anterior urethral spatulations were performed in 101 (32%) and 219 (68%) of the patients, respectively. The success rates were 96% and 87.6% in groups A and B, respectively (P = .025). There were no urethro-rectal fistula and perineal wound infection during the follow-up period.

CONCLUSION

Our data suggest that the dorsal anterior urethral spatulation in urethroplasty is more efficient than ventral anterior urethral spatulation in terms of treatment success outcome.