Outcome of nephrostomy balloon dilation for vesicourethral anastomotic strictures following radical prostatectomy: a retrospective study.

To evaluate the efficacy of nephrostomy balloon dilation (NBD) for patients who developed vesicourethral anastomotic stricture (VAS) following radical prostatectomy. NBD was performed in patients who developed VAS following radical prostatectomy. Quality of life (QoL), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and maximal urinary flow rate (Qmax) were evaluated. Four hundred and sixty-three prostate cancer patients underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP), and 86 underwent laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP). Most patients (90.3%) had T2 or T3 prostate cancer and a pathological Gleason score of ≤ 7. Forty-five (8.2%) and four (4.7%) patients developed VAS due to radical or LRP, respectively. Forty (89%) patients underwent NBD, including three cases of repeat dilation. The median Qmax was 4 ml s-1 (interquartile range (IQR), 2.3-5.6) before dilation and improved to 16 ml s-1 (IQR, 15-19) and 19 ml s-1 (IQR, 18-21) at the 1- and 12-month follow-up, respectively (P < 0.01). Fifteen (37.5%) patients had urinary incontinence prior to dilation, whereas only three (7.5%) patients had incontinence 12 months following dilation (P < 0.01). The median IPSS score improved from 19 (IQR, 17-24) before dilation to 7 (IQR, 6-8) at 12 months following dilation, and the QoL score improved from 5 (IQR, 4-6) before dilation to 2 (IQR, 2-3) at 12 months following dilation (P < 0.01 in both). VAS occurs in a small but significant proportion of patients following radical prostatectomy. NBD offers an effective remedy for VAS.