[Urethral sonography in the diagnosis and preoperative evaluation of urethral stenosis]

An area of spongiofibrosis can be found proximal and distal to all stenosis of the urethra. The severity of such spongiofibrosis as well as its length are in many instances decisive when choosing an adequate surgical approach. Conventional radiological diagnosis of stenosis of the urethra only shows the area of urethral stricture but is unable to inform on the fibrosis of the spongy body. Sonourethrography or urethral echography affords a dynamic tridimensional examination of the anterior urethra which provides accurate data on the length of the stenosis, as well as the extend and severity of the spongiofribosis. Sixteen patients diagnosed with stenosis of the urethra through sonourethrography were evaluated. This easy-to-perform investigation, allowed the identification of 4 patients with peristenotic intense spongiofibrosis, hypercongenital urethra, who underwent open urethroplastia. The urethra of another 3 patients showed normal echogenicity, but diminished elasticity, and were diagnosed as of moderate spongiofibrosis requiring extensive internal urethrotomy. We believe sonourethrography should become a procedure to be included as part of the routine pre-surgical investigation of the stenosis of the urethra due to its non-invasive nature, easiness to perform, and because it provides highly useful information which would allow a decreased number of re-stenosis following surgery of the urethral stenosis.