Surgical treatment of bulbar urethral strictures: tips and tricks

ABSTRACT The surgical treatment of bulbar urethral strictures is still one of the most challenging reconstructive-surgery problems. Bulbar urethral strictures are usually categorized as traumatic and non-traumatic strictures depending on the aetiology. The traumatic strictures are caused by trauma and they determine disruption of the urethra with obliteration of the urethral lumen, ending with fibrotic gaps between the urethral ends. Differently, the non-traumatic urethral strictures are mainly caused by catheterization, instrumentation, and infection, or they can also be idiopathic. They are usually associated with spongiofibrosis of the segment of the urethra that has been involved. Worldwide, two different surgical approaches are currently adopted for bulbar urethral repair: transecting techniques with end-to-end anastomosis and non-transecting techniques followed by grafting. Traumatic obliterated strictures require transection of the urethra allowing complete removal of the fibrotic tissue that involves the urethral ends. Conversely, non-traumatic, non-obliterated urethral strictures require augmentation of the urethral plate using oral mucosa grafts. Nowadays, it is still difficult to choose the correct surgical management for non-obliterated bulbar stricture repair. Indeed, different surgical techniques have been proposed (pedicled flap vs free graft, dorsal vs ventral placement of the graft, non-transecting technique using or non-using free graft, etc.) but none emerged as the best solution since all techniques have showed similar success and complication rates. Consequently, the final choice is still based on surgeon's preferences and patient's characteristics. Within the current manuscript, we like to present some of our tips and tricks that we developed along our prolonged surgical experience on the treatment of bulbar urethral strictures. These might be of interest for surgeons that approach this complex surgery. Moreover, our suggestions want to be useful regardless the type of chosen technique being adaptable for different scenario.

Current controversies in reconstructive surgery of the anterior urethra: a clinical overview

We performed an overview of the surgical techniques suggested for the treatment of anterior urethral strictures using MEDLINE. In applying the MEDLINE search, we used the "MeSH" (Medical Subject Heading) and "free text" protocols. The MeSH search was conducted by combining the following terms: "urethral stricture", "flap", "graft", "oral mucosa", "urethroplasty", "urethrotomy" and "failed hypospadias". Multiple "free text" searches were performed individually applying the following terms through all fields of the records: "reconstructive urethral surgery", "end-to-end anastomosis", "one-stage", "two stage". Descriptive statistics of the articles were provided. Meta-analyses were not employed. Seventy-eight articles were determined to be germane in this review. Six main topics were identified as controversial in anterior urethra surgery: the use of oral mucosa vs penile skin; the use of free grafts vs pedicled flaps in penile urethroplasty; the use of grafts vs anastomotic repair in bulbar urethral strictures; the use of dorsal vs ventral placement of the graft in bulbar urethroplasty; the use of definitive perineal urethrostomy vs one-stage repair in complex urethral strictures; the surgical options for patients with failed hypospadias repair. Different points of view are documented and presented in the literature by various authors from different countries. The aim of this clinical overview is to survey the main controversial issues in surgical reconstruction of the anterior urethra focusing on the use of flap or graft, substitute material, type of surgery and challenging situations, such as failed hypospadias or complex urethral stricture repair.

Preoperative Valsava leak point pressure may not predict outcome of mid-urethral slings: analysis from a randomized controlled trial of retropubic versus transobturator mid-urethral slings

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that preoperative Valsalva leak point pressure (VLPP) predicts long-term outcome of mid-urethra slings for female stress urinary incontinence (SUI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and forty-five patients with SUI were prospectively randomized to two mid-urethra sling treatments: Tension free vaginal tape (TVT) or transobturator tape (TOT). They were followed-up at 3, 6, 12 months post-operatively and then annually for the primary outcome variable, i.e. dry or wet and secondary outcome variables such as scores on the urogenital distress inventory (UDI-6) and the impact of incontinence on quality of life (IIQ-7) questionnaire as well as patient satisfaction as scored on a visual analogue scale (VAS). Preoperative VLPP was correlated with primary and secondary outcome variables. RESULTS: Mean follow-ups were 32 + 12 months (range 12-55) for TVT and 31 + 15 months (range 12-61) for TOT. When patients were analyzed according to VLPP stratification, 95 (65.5 percent) patients showed a VLPP > 60 cm H2O and 50 (34.5 percent) patients had a VLPP < 60 cm H2O. The overall objective cure rates were 75.8 percent for patients with VLPP > 60 cm H2O and 72 percent for those with VLPP < 60 cm H2O (p < 0.619). No significant differences in objective cure rates emerged when patients were stratified for pre-operative VLPP and matched for TOT or TVT procedures: VLPP > 60 cm H2O (82 percent vs. 68.9 percent p < 0.172); VLPP < 60 cm H2O (68 percent vs. 76 percent p < 0.528). CONCLUSIONS: When patients were stratified for preoperative VLPP (< or > of 60 cm H2O), preoperative VLPP was not linked to outcome after TVT or TOT procedures.

Surgical treatment of anterior urethral stricture diseases: brief overview

We performed an up-to-date review of the surgical techniques suggested for the treatment of anterior urethral strictures. References for this review were identified by searching PubMed and MEDLINE using the search terms "urethral stricture" or "urethroplasty" from 1995 to 2006. Descriptive statistics of the articles were provided. Meta-analyses or other multivariate designs were not employed. Out of 327 articles, 50 (15 percent) were determined to be germane to this review. Eight abstracts were referenced as the authors of this review attended the meetings where the abstract results were presented, thus it was possible to collect additional information on such abstracts. Urethrotomy continues to be the most commonly used technique, but it does have a high failure rate and many patients progress to surgical repair. Buccal mucosa has become the most popular substitute material in urethroplasty; however, the skin appears to have a longer follow-up. Free grafts have been making a comeback, with fewer surgeons using genital flaps. Short bulbar strictures are amenable using primary anastomosis, with a high success rate. Longer strictures are repaired using ventral or dorsal graft urethroplasty, with the same success rate. New tools such as fibrin glue or engineered material will become a standard in future treatment. In reconstructive urethral surgery, the superiority of one approach over another is not yet clearly defined. The surgeon must be competent in the use of various techniques to deal with any condition of the urethra presented at the time of surgery.

The challenge of overactive bladder therapy: alternative to antimuscarinic agents

Contemporary, the management of overactive bladder (OAB), a medical condition characterized by urgency, with or without urge urinary incontinence, frequency and nocturia, in absence of genitourinary pathologies or metabolic factors that could explain these symptoms, is complex, and a wide range of conservative treatments has been offered, including bladder training, biofeedback, behavioral changes, oral or intravesical anticholinergic agents, S3 sacral neuromodulation and peripheral electrical stimulation. Clinical efficacy of these treatments remains an open issue and several experimental and clinical studies were carried out in the last years improving the results of medical treatment.Here we review the pathophysiology of micturition reflex, the current therapies for OAB and the rationale for alternative treatments. Furthermore we critically address the potential use of medications targeting the central nervous system (CNS) and the primary sensory nerves of the bladder wall, we review the use of agonists of nociceptin/orphanin protein (NOP) receptor and finally we report the results obtained by intradetrusor injection of botulinum toxin.