Lichen sclerosis–induced long segment anterior urethral stricture: The early outcome of one-stage repair using dorsolateral onlay buccal mucosa graft

Abstract

Background: Substitution urethroplasty using buccal mucosal grafts can be performed by several approaches including ventral onlay graft, dorsal onlay graft, or ventral urethrotomy with dorsal inlay graft. Our study aims to evaluate the surgical outcome of dorsolateral buccal mucosal graft for long segment anterior urethral stricture >6 cm in patients with Lichen sclerosus (LS). Methods: A retrospective study included patients who underwent repair for long segment anterior urethral stricture >6 cm due to LS between January 2013 and April 2019. All patients were followed-up at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postoperatively and then yearly by clinical symptoms, uroflowmetry, and calculation of post-void residual urine volume. Retrograde urethrogram was requested for patients with voiding symptoms or decreased maximum flow rate. Stricture recurrence that required subsequent urethrotomy or urethroplasty was considered failure. The success rate and surgical complications were collected and analyzed. Results: Thirty patients were identified. The median age (range) was 39 (25–61) years and a median (range) stricture length was 8 (6–14) cm. Most of postoperative complications were of minor degree. The success rate at median follow-up of 15 (12–24) months was 86.5%. The median maximum flow rate increased significantly from 6 (2–11) ml/s preoperatively to 18 (range: 6–23) ml/s at the 6th month ( p value < 0.001). Conclusion: Dorsolateral buccal mucosal grafts urethroplasty for long anterior urethral stricture caused by LS has a high success rate and low risk of complications including stricture recurrence.