Urethroplasty Practices among Reconstructive Urologists in Nigeria

OBJECTIVES: To determine the national practice patterns in the management of male urethral stricture disease by the open urethroplasty technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire-based national survey of Nigerian urologists was performed during the 19(th) Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the National Association of Urological Surgeons of Nigeria, held at Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria in 2013. RESULTS: A total of 55 respondents (67.1%) completed the questionnaire. About 43.6% were between the ages of 40 and 49 years. Almost 41.8% had between 5 and 9 years of experience as a reconstructive urologist, and 50.9% performed 1–9 urethroplasties/year. A total of 80 responders reported trauma as the most common etiology for their strictures. About 63.7% preferred to treat strictures after 3–6 months of diagnosis and 67.3% of respondents preferred the combination of retrograde urethrography and voiding cystourethrography for the diagnosis of urethral stricture. Stenting of the urethra was done after urethroplasty using size 16 Fr of 18 Fr silastic catheter; however, the duration of stenting varied among urologists. About 41.8% followed up their patients for a year, and uroflowmetry was used by 36.6% of the responders to follow-up their patients. Stricture recurrence was the most common reported complication by 36.4% of the respondents. CONCLUSIONS: In Nigeria, most urethral stricture diseases are treated by open urethroplasties. Very few of these surgeries are performed annually by young urologists. There is no uniformity in the method of diagnosis, stenting, and follow-up after treatment.