Urethral stricture disease symptoms & treatment

The urethra is a tube that carries urine from your bladder out of your body. A urethral stricture occurs when scar tissue in or around your urethra limits or blocks the flow of urine. Inflammation, an injury or an infection can create this scar tissue. Urethral stricture disease is more common in men, but women can develop it, too.

Symptoms

Symptoms of a urethral stricture include:

• Abdominal pain
• A slow or weak urine stream
• A urine stream that sprays rather than flows
• Blood in your urine (known as a hematuria)
• Infertility
• Pain when you urinate
• Reduced urine output
• Urinary tract infections in men
• Urethral discharge

Services

First, your Aurora urologist will talk with you about your symptoms and perform a physical exam. He or she may also order additional tests. After you’ve been diagnosed, your doctor will work with you on a treatment plan tailored to your needs. Treatment options include:

• Anastomotic procedures: Your surgeon removes the narrowed section of your urethra and links the 2 normal ends.
• Free graft, skin flap and staged procedures: Your surgeon grafts tissue from another part of your body to widen the narrow section of your urethra.
• Dilation: Your surgeon gradually stretches your urethra, though this usually has to be repeated.
• Urethrotomy: Your surgeon uses a scope to cut your stricture with a laser or knife.
• Urethral stent: Your surgeon inserts a thin tube into your ureter to widen it.
• Surgery to reconstruct your urethra