Adult Urethral Stricture Disease after Childhood Hypospadias Repair

Background. Adult patients with urethral stricture after childhood hypospadias surgeries are infrequently discussed in the literature. We report our experience in treating such patients. Materials and Methods. A retrospective chart review was performed. From 2002 through 2007, nine consecutive adult patients who had current urethral stricture and had undergone childhood hypospadias surgeries were included. All adult urethral strictures were managed by a single surgeon. Results. Mean patient age was 38.9 years old. The lag time of urethral stricture presentation ranged from 25 to 57 years after primary hypospadias surgery, with an average of 36 years. Stricture length ranged from 1 to 17 cm (mean: 10.3 cm). Open graft-based urethroplasties were performed in 4/9 cases. Salvage perineal urethrostomy was performed in 2/9 cases. Another 3 cases chose to undergo repeat urethrotomy or dilatations—none of these patients was cured by such treatment. Complications included one urethrostomy stenosis and one urinary tract infection. Conclusion. Urethral stricture may occur decades after initial hypospadias surgery. It can be the most severe form of anterior urethral stricture, and may eventually require salvage treatment such as a perineal urethrostomy. Patients undergoing hypospadias surgery should receive lifelong follow-up protocol to detect latent urethral strictures.