Current Management of Membranous Urethral Strictures Due to Radiation

Marjan Waterloos; Francisco Martins; Wesley Verla; Luis Alex Kluth; Nicolaas Lumen

doi:10.3389/fsurg.2021.635060

Current Management of Membranous Urethral Strictures Due to Radiation

Front Surg. 2021 Mar 4:8:635060. doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2021.635060. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Marjan Waterloos^{1

2}, Francisco Martins³, Wesley Verla², Luis Alex Kluth⁴, Nicolaas Lumen²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Urology, AZ Maria Middelares Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.
² Department of Urology, University Hospital Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.
³ Department of Urology, University of Lisbon School of Medicine, Lisbon, Portugal.
⁴ Department of Urology, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Abstract

Radiotherapy is a frequently used treatment for prostate cancer. It does not only causes the intended damage to cancer cells, but also affects healthy surrounding tissue. As a result radiation-induced urethral strictures occur in 2.2% of prostate cancer patients. Management of urethral strictures is challenging due to the presence of poor vascularized tissue for reconstruction and the proximity of the sphincter, which can impair the functional outcome. This review provides a literature overview of risk factors, diagnostics and management of radiation-induced urethral strictures.

Keywords: membranous urethral stricture; radiation-induced; radiotherapy; urethal stricture; urethroplasty.

Publication types

Review