Lingual mucosal graft urethroplasty 12 years later: Systematic review and meta-analysis

To evaluate the functional results and complications of the lingual mucosal graft (LMG) urethroplasty and to sum up the current state of the art of this surgical technique.

A systematic search of PubMed and Scopus electronic databases was performed, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Studies involving male patients treated with LMG urethroplasty for urethral stricture were included. Complete protocol is available at http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?ID=CRD42017080121. A meta-analysis comparing functional and long-term oral complication outcomes of LMG and buccal mucosal graft (BMG) was performed, calculating the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

Twenty original articles were included in the qualitative analysis. Strictures of 1.5-16.5 cm have been treated with LMG urethroplasty, due to the improvement of harvesting technique and very low rate of long-term oral complications. Very good functional results have been reported by different authors for LMG urethroplasty, with lower rate of oral complications than BMG. The meta-analysis included six comparative studies involving 187 and 178 patients treated with LMG and BMG urethroplasty, respectively. An OR of 1.65 (95% CI [0.95-2.87], I ² = 0%) and 0.18 (95% CI [0.03-1.26], I ² = 68%) were found for LMG vs. BMG urethroplasty, in terms of success and oral complication rate, respectively.

LMG urethroplasty can be reasonably considered a first choice technique for urethral stricture with very good results. Oral complications are temporary and minimally disabling, basically less than those for BMG, and depend mainly on the graft extent.