INTERNAL URETHROTOMY: PROCEDURE

: Internal urethrotomy (IU) can be considered the first surgical modality of treatment of the urethral stenosis (US). Most US are iatrogenic. Others are of inflammatory, traumatic or congenital. The rationale of IU is to incise the scar and to allow the urethra to open, hoping that it will maintain this increase in calibre as healing progresses. IU is helpful when the spongiofibrosis associated with the stricture is superficial. Usually a single incision at the 12 o'clock is made, but other incisions can be performed. A soft catheter is left in the urethra after an IU for some days. IU can be a curative modality, but often the results are disappointing. In literature a 20-40% of success is reported. It is generally believed that IU can be repeated at maximum 2 or 3 times. Some authors suggest intermittent catheterisation (IC) to improve the final outcome.