Relationship between the duration of catheter placement after anastomotic urethroplasty and the long-term efficacy

Objective To explore the relationship between the duration of catheter placement after anastomotic urethroplasty and the long-term efficacy.Methods 19 patients were randomly divided into two groups and received emergency anastomotic urethroplasty.After removal of the catheter at different periods of time,occurrence of urethral stricture in the anastomotic segment was observed and the clinical outcomes were compared.Results In group A,all 9 patients received catheter removal 4 weeks after the procedure, underwent urethral dilatation, and were followed up for 6 -12 months; 7 of 9 ( 77.8％ ) patients had no secondary urethral stricture in the anastomotic segment,with a highest urinart rate of 15.3 ～ 31.1 ml/s,22.1 ml/sin average the patients received routine cystscopy postoperatively once a month for 3 months and the F21 cystscope could pass smoothly; 2 ( 22.2％ ) patients occurred urethral stricture and needed scar removal and then anastomosis.In group B,all 10 patients received catheter removal 12 weeks after the procedure,with a highest urinary rate of 19.2 ～ 38.5 ml/s,24.3 ml/sin average,but received no urethral dilatation,and received the same cystscopic examination and the F21 cystscope could pass smoothly; the patients were also followed up for 6 ～ 12 months and no urethral stricture was found.Conclusions Within 3 months after anastomotic urethroplasty, the time of catheter placement in the urethra is positively related with the incidence rate of urethral stricture in the anastomotic segment. Key words: Urethral injury;  Anastomotic Urethroplasty;  Urethral stricture;  Urethral scar; Catheter