Purpose: To determine the number of cases required to achieve a specified recurrence-free rate (>80%) among urethroplasty types.
Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis of consecutive patients, who underwent urethroplasty performed by a single surgeon between April 2013 and January 2019, was conducted. Urethroplasty subtypes were divided according to stricture location: penile, bulbar, and posterior. If there was no recurrence for >6 months after surgery, the surgery was considered to be a success. The average success rates among quintile groups were compared to determine the learning curve for each type.
Results: Of 150 patients who underwent urethroplasty, 112 were included in this study. The overall success rate was 89.7% in penile, 97.8% in bulbar, and 74.1% in posterior urethroplasty. Bulbar urethroplasty reached the target success rate in the first quintile group (1-9 cases). Penile urethroplasty also achieved the target success rate in the first quintile group (1-8 cases), and the success rate gradually increased until the fifth quintile group (32-39 cases). In posterior urethroplasty, the target success rate was achieved in the fifth quintile group (20-27 cases).
Conclusions: Bulbar urethroplasty had the fastest learning curve, and posterior urethroplasty the slowest.
Keywords: Learning curve; Reconstructive surgical procedures; Urethral stricture.
© The Korean Urological Association, 2020.