Clinical features of spongy urethral strictures requiring multi-stage urethroplasty or permanent urethrostomy
Introduction. Extended spongy urethral strictures require the use of plastic surgery techniques. In most cases, a one-stage urethral repair can be performed. However, staged urethroplasty and permanent urethrostomy are important in patients with extremely complex urethral strictures. Purpose of the study. To determine the clinical features of spongy urethral strictures, which cannot be cured by one-stage urethroplasty, but are subject to multistage plastic or permanent urethrostomy. Materials and methods. The study included 158 patients who underwent surgery for urethral strictures in 2010 - 2019. Inclusion criteria: spongy urethral strictures requiring staged urethroplasty or permanent urethrostomy. Exclusion criteria: age<18 years, proximal urethral strictures, urethra-vesical anastomosis and bladder neck stenosis, previously untreated congenital anomalies (hypospadias and epispadias), and history of any other urethral surgery not meeting the inclusion criteria. Results. The age of the patients ranged from 18 to 88 years. Iatrogenic (34.8%) and inflammatory (32.3%) urethral lesions predominate in the structure of etiological factors with the most common penile localization of narrowing (43.7%). The length of strictures in half of the patients exceeds 6 cm; a quarter of the sample has subtotal and total spongy urethral lesions. The proportion of recurrent urethral strictures is 56.3%. The average duration of the urethral stricture disease reaches 8 years. In 61.3% of cases, the disease is accompanied by complications from both local tissues and organs of the urinary and reproductive systems. Conclusion. Clinical evaluation of patients with spongy urethral strictures requiring multi-stage urethroplasty or permanent urethrostomy reveals a particular severity of urethral stricture disease. This category of patients has a high risk of unsuccessful outcomes with one-stage surgery. In these cases, patients require a multi-staged urethroplasty or a permanent urethrostomy.