Dorsal onlay graft urethroplasty using penile skin or buccal mucosa in adult bulbourethral strictures.

PURPOSE: Preputial skin graft is used routinely for urethral reconstruction in patients with stricture disease. Alternative donor sites include extrapenile skin, bladder mucosa and buccal mucosa. Recently buccal mucosa graft has been suggested when local epithelial tissue is not available. We describe our experience with 37 patients undergoing 1-stage correction of bulbar urethral stricture using a penile skin (31) or buccal mucosa (6) graft.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 37 patients with bulbar urethral strictures a nontubularized dorsal onlay graft was used for urethral reconstruction. A preputial skin graft was used in 31 patients and a buccal mucosa graft in 6 with a paucity of local skin. Buccal mucosa graft length ranged from 2.5 to 5 cm. (average 4) and preputial skin graft was 2.5 to 12 cm. long (average 4.7). A dorsal approach to the urethral lumen was used in all patients who underwent onlay graft urethroplasty.

RESULTS: Mean followup was 21.5 months for all 37 patients, 23 months for 31 treated with preputial skin graft and 13.5 months for 6 treated with buccal mucosa graft. The clinical outcomes were considered a failure anytime postoperative instrumentation was needed, including dilatation. In the series 34 cases (92%) were classified as a success and 3 (8%) as failure.

CONCLUSIONS: Onlay graft urethroplasty provided excellent results in 92% of adults with bulbourethral stricture. The dorsal approach to the urethra allowed the use of foreskin or buccal mucosa graft for reconstruction of the adequate urethral lumen.