Optical urethrotomy as ambulatory procedure

Optical urethrotomy is a relatively new means of treating urethral stricture. We performed the procedure on 100 ambulatory patients using only topical anesthesia and sedation in some. The patients were followed a minimum of one year. Our success rate for cure following one procedure was 66 per cent; however, those patients not cured required less frequent dilations after urethrotomy. We believe that this is a safe and effective means of treating urethral strictures in the outpatient setting with little morbidity and discomfort and with considerable economic savings.