Prelaminated Gracilis Flap with Buccal Mucosal Graft for Salvage of Devastated Urethra

In patients with devastated bulbous urethra, that is, bulbar necrosis, failed fasciocutaneous repairs and “watering can perineum” repair options are limited by paucity of reliable local tissue suitable for reconstruction. In this case report we demonstrate a novel variation of a two-stage technique for reconstruction of a devastated bulbous urethra in a 57-year-old male who suffered penetrating trauma to his previously reconstructed urethra. Because of extensive loss of local tissue from the prior reconstruction and subsequent trauma and infection a 2-stage technique with use of gracilis was employed. This technique involved creation of two independently vascularized urethral hemi-plates prelaminated with buccal mucosa graft (BMG). In the first stage the dorsal plate was created by quilting buccal graft onto corpora cavernosa to create a temporary augmented perineal urethrostomy. In the same stage the future ventral neourethral plate was created by grafting another BMG onto the exposed distal gracilis muscle. Eight weeks later the two prelaminated plates were anastomosed by tunneling the gracilis-BMG composite into the perineum. At 8-month follow-up patient has normal voiding and continence. To our knowledge this is the first report of reconstructing an entire segment of devastated urethra in such a manner.