No abstract

Despite optimal urethral imaging with a suprapubic tube in men with high grade stricture reconstructive urologists underestimated length by an average of almost 1 cm. This underestimation was less for shorter strictures and it increased with stricture length. In addition, a period of urethral rest resulted in more frequent stricture obliteration, which was associated with a change in the planned operative approach about half of the time. If urologists do not place a suprapubic cystostomy tube prior to urethroplasty for high grade stricture, the operative plan should account for the stricture being tighter than it may appear.

No abstract

type was lymphocytic in 41 cases (B/T cell;43.2%), plasma cell in 5 (5.2%), eosinophilic in 8 (8.4%) and neutrophilic in only 1 (1.1%). Of the 15 (16%) patients noted to have urethroplasty failure, presence and type of inflammation was not significantly greater versus those with successful repairs (p¼0.57).CONCLUSIONS: Re-review of stricture pathology revealed more inflammation and greater inflammatory heterogeneity than was previously appreciated. While inflammation did not predict for recurrence, our specimen retrieval rates were unacceptably low, especially for substitution urethroplasties, which may have impacted the lack of association. We have since standardized tissue retrieval and analysis protocol which we believe may ultimately be used to elucidate stricture pathophysiology and predict surgical success.