The selection of procedures for the treatment of panurethral stricture secondary to lichen sclerosus and the histological evidence of urethral involvement / 中华泌尿外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the procedure selection and outcomes of treatment for the patients with severe panurethral strictures secondary to lichen sclerosus ( LS ) and evaluated the bulbar urethral specimens histologically . Methods Seventy-eight patients with severe panurethral strictures of LS underwent one-stage urethroplasty using different mucosal grafts between January 2003 and December 2014. The mean age was 48 years (range 38-72).The mean stricture length was 14.3 ±2.6 cm (range 11.0-22.0).Midline perineal incisions or circumcoronal and midline perineal incisions were used and two procedures were chosen as follow:①the strictured urethras were dissected from the corpora cavernosa only along the left side and the stricture urethras were opened by a dorsal longitudinal incision which extended about 1.5 cm into the proximal healthy urethras .The strictured urethras were augmented using oral mucosal grafts(1.5 to 2.0 cm in width and an appropriate in length ) ( n=50); ② for the patients whose urethras were very narrow or obliterated , the urethras were reconstructed using colonic mucosal graft ( 3 cm in width and an appropriate in length)after the severe strictured urethras were excised (n=28).Biopsies were taken separately from the urethral meatus and bulbar urethral specimens .Results All of the 78 patients were followed up for 6-110 months (mean of 48.3 months).Sixty-nine patients (88.5%) urinated well, with the mean urinary peak flow rate of 23.4 ml/s ( range 15.2-47.0 ml/s ) , and urethrography showed that each had a patent urethra with adequate lumen .Complications associated with urethra occurred in 9 patients (11.5%) . Three patients developed urinary fistula secondary to infection , which required surgical correction;6 patients developed meatal stenosis 3 -11 months postoperatively , and all voided well after meatoplasty.The incidence of LS-positive biopsies was 100.0%in the glans and 88.5%in the meatus.In the bulbar urethral mucosa , the histological alteration in all biopsies was squamous metaplasia of the hyperplasia , and no histological evidence of typical LS was documented .However , homogenization of the collagen with diffuse lymphocyte infiltration was observed in the bulbar urethral specimens of 2 patients, and squamous metaplasia of the hyperplasia with serious orthokeratosis that was similar to its cutaneous counterpart was found in another 2 patients.Conclusions Our study suggests that urethroplasty with oral mucosal grafts is effective to treat panurethral stricture associated with LS .Urethroplasty with a colonic mucosal graft is suitable for repairing very severe strictured or obliterated urethra .No histological evidence of typical LS is observed in the bulbar urethral specimens .