For a study, researchers sought to assess the effectiveness of anterior urethroplasty using various success criteria in a single cohort. A multi-institutional, prospectively managed database was used to gather the data. The study included men who had their first single-stage anterior urethroplasty between 2006 and 2020. The exclusion criteria were among the exclusion criteria for lack of follow-up, hypospadias, protracted meatotomy, perineal urethrostomy, posterior urethroplasty, and phased repairs. The following 5 criteria were evaluated to determine whether a urethroplasty “failed”: stricture retreatment, anatomical recurrence on cystoscopy, peak flow rate less than 15 ml/second, poor stream on the questionnaire, and failure by any of these criteria. For each criterion, Kaplan-Meier survival curves were created. Investigators also compared the results by stricture length, location, and etiology. About 712 miles in total fulfilled the requirements for inclusion, including completing all forms of follow-up. The 1- and 5-year projected probability of success for “retreatment,” “cystoscopy,” “uroflow,” “questionnaire,” and “any failure,” respectively, 94% and 75%, 88%, and 71%, and 67% and 23%, respectively. This pattern varied depending on the etiology, location, and stricture length. The definition of success significantly impacted the anticipated likelihood of success following a first-time anterior urethroplasty. Their ability to compare urethroplasty outcomes across studies had been constrained by the wide range of definitions used in the literature.
Source: auajournals.org/doi/10.1097/JU.0000000000002501
