ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate diagnostic methods and long-term curative effects for recurrent urethral stricture with false passage. Methods Among a total of 620 cases of urethral stricture or atresia treated from March 1987 to March 2005 in this hospital,false passage was present in 40 cases(6.4%).Diagnostic methods included urethrography,sonourethrography,injection of methylene blue into the bladder by cystostomy,CT and/or MRI examinations,or exploration by vesicotomy.Surgical methods included insertion of a memory metallic stent after urethrotomy in 10 cases,electrotomy in 7 cases,urethral reunion in 4 cases,hydroelectric shock wave therapy in 8,posterior pull-through urethroplasty in 4,patient self-administered urethral dilation in 5,excision of false passage in 1,and perineourethrostomy in 1.Results All the 40 cases were followed for 1~15 years(mean,9 years).The urethral stricture was cured in 32 cases(80.0%),and therapeutic failure was observed in 8 cases(20.0%),including 4 cases of unstable pelvic fracture.Conclusions Sonourethrography is the most accurate noninvasive method of staging urethra strictures.It is simple to perform,requires no radiation,and offers a dynamic three dimensional measurement.