Effect of phallic stretch on length of bulbous urethral stricture during retrograde urethrography

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of phallic stretch on bulbous urethral stricture while performing retrograde urethrography (RUG).

Methods: Between July 2009 and June 2012, 197 adult males with stricture pattern on uroflowmetry underwent RUG. Two films were taken, first without (film A) and second after stretching the penis by about 5 cm (film B). 29 cases with proximal and distal bulbous strictures were included in the present analysis. The data recorded were stricture lengths in films A and B.

Results: 12 men had distal bulbous or penobulbous stricture (group 1) while 17 had stricture involving the proximal bulb (group 2). Mean stricture length in group 1 was 2.82 cm (range 1.2-4.2 cm) in film A and 4.59 cm (range 3.0-6.4 cm) in film B. In group 2 stricture length was 1.76 cm (range 1.0-2.3 cm) in film A and 1.79 cm (range 1.0-2.5 cm) in film B. The percentage change in stricture length on stretching was 38.48% (p = 0.0001) in group 1 and 1.67% (p = 0.8301) in group 2.

Conclusions: The impact of phallic stretch on radiographic length during RUG was found to be significant in distal bulbous but not in proximal urethral stricture, which is important when interpreting the RUG and deciding the management of stricture.