Muscle- and nerve-sparing bulbar urethroplasty: a new technique.

BACKGROUND: To describe a new surgical technique for the repair of bulbar urethral strictures to preserve the bulbospongiosum muscle and its perineal innervation.

OBJECTIVE: Surgical steps of muscle- and nerve-sparing bulbar urethroplasty are described. The outcome is provided regarding semen sequestration and postvoiding dribbling.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We performed the procedure in 12 patients (average age: 43.58 yr) with bulbar urethral strictures (average stricture length: 4.47 cm).

SURGICAL PROCEDURE: Six patients underwent urethroplasty using a ventral oral mucosal onlay graft, and six patients underwent urethroplasty using a dorsal oral mucosal onlay graft. In all patients, the surgical approach to the bulbar urethra was made avoiding dissection of the bulbospongiosum muscle from the corpus spongiosum and leaving the central tendon of the perineum intact.

MEASUREMENTS: Clinical outcome was considered a failure when any postoperative instrumentation was needed. The primary outcome examined the technical feasibility of the muscle- and nerve-sparing bulbar urethroplasty. The secondary outcome examined the presence or absence of postoperative postvoid dribbling and semen sequestration using a nonvalidated questionnaire (Appendix).

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: In all patients, postoperative voiding cystourethrography was performed 3 wk after surgery and no urethral sacculation was evident. Urethrography were repeated after 6 mo and 12 mo. No postvoid dribbling or semen sequestration was demonstrated in all patients at 6 mo and 12 mo after surgery. No patient showed stricture recurrence. The average follow-up was 15.25 mo (range 12 mo to 26 mo, median 13.5 mo).

CONCLUSIONS: Bulbar urethroplasty preserving the bulbospongiosum muscle, the central tendon of the perineum, and the perineal nerves is a safe, feasible, minimally invasive alternative to traditional bulbar urethroplasty.