Urinary continence after repair of membranous urethral stricture in prostatectomized patients

Prostatectomy by open or transurethral techniques usually destroys the function of the internal sphincter (bladder neck), which is the first line of defense against incontinence. Urinary continence then depends upon the intrinsic smooth muscle sphincter of the membranous urethra and the striated external sphincter. Unfortunately, a significant incidence of membranous urethral stricture occurs after a prostatic operation. Most such strictures can be managed with periodic dilatation but some are difficult and dangerous to dilate. Complications such as recurrent acute retention, bacteremia, false passages, stone formation, fistulas and so forth are indications for surgical cure of the stricture. However, can urethroplasty of the membranous urethra be carried out in these patients without inevitable incontinence? At our center 33 prostatectomized patients have had a 2-stage urethroplasty for refractory membranous urethral strictures. Nine patients had troublesome stress incontinence after the first-stage operation but only 4 of these had continuing incontinence after the second-stage operation. These patients had been noted to have transient postoperative stress incontinence after the prostatectomy. Although there is a risk of incontinence after urethroplasty of the membranous urethra in prostatectomized patients, the risk is sufficiently low that the operation should not be denied patients with refractory strictures in whom the only alternative eventually will be some form of urinary diversion.