Muscular, myocutaneous, and fasciocutaneous flaps in complex urethral reconstruction

The ability to achieve a long-term, stable, stricture-free, hairless urethral lumen in patients with complex anterior stricture and compromised genital skin is one of the ongoing challenges of reconstructive urologic surgery. The conservative approach by endoscopic urethrotomy or dilatation with a self-catheterization schedule rarely affects a definitive cure except in the short filmy superficial strictures of the bulbous portion of the urethra. Genital fasciocutaneous island flaps are currently the golden standard for definitive, reliable resolution of anterior urethral strictures in patients who have not undergone a prior surgical procedure that may alter the penile or scrotal circulation, or those with skin loss from trauma, decubiti, radiation, or balanitis xerotica obliterans.