Female urethroplasty with dorsal onlay buccal mucosal graft: a single institution experience

Abstract

Purpose Female urethral stricture disease is frequently unrecognized or misdiagnosed, with controversy in the literature regarding the definition of strictures and approach to management. The purpose of this study is to report our institutional experience with female urethroplasty and add our experience to the growing body of research. Methods We performed a retrospective review of patients undergoing female urethroplasty with dorsal onlay BMG at the University of Colorado between March 2015 and December 2021 performed by two surgeons (BF and JO). The primary outcome measure was surgical success, defined as no stricture recurrence. The secondary outcome measure was the incidence of de novo urinary incontinence. Results 23 patients were included in our data analysis. The median duration of lower urinary tract symptoms prior to urethroplasty was 16 years. 87% had undergone previous dilations. At a median follow-up of 12.2 months (range 1–81 months), four patients required a secondary procedure for obstruction with an overall success rate of 83%. One patient developed de novo stress urinary incontinence and one patient developed urge urinary incontinence. Subgroup analysis was performed comparing the patients that developed stricture recurrence (N = 4) to those that did not (N = 19). Those with stricture recurrence had a longer duration of symptoms and more dilations prior to urethroplasty. Conclusion Female urethroplasty with BMG is effective at treating female urethral stricture disease, with excellent outcomes at over a year of follow-up and minimal risk of stress incontinence postoperatively.