Minimal impact urethroplasty allows same-day surgery in most patients.

OBJECTIVES: To present our evaluation of the safety and feasibility of decreasing the impact of anterior urethroplasty by minimizing the surgery time, maximizing adjuvant pain therapy, and using anesthetic agents that decrease the incidence and severity of side effects, which allows most patients to leave the hospital comfortably within 4 hours of surgery.
METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 54 consecutive anterior urethroplasty patients from August 2000 to August 2004 (34 anterior anastomotic and 20 ventral onlay buccal mucosal graft urethroplasty) was performed.
RESULTS: Historically, 27% of patients had undergone same-day surgery (SDS). After the initiation of minimal impact surgery and early discharge, 85% did so. All but one admission was planned (1 patient [2%] had hypotension in the recovery room and was admitted). No postoperative readmissions or emergency room visits occurred. The admitted patients had comparable stricture length to, but slightly older age (49 years compared with 42 years) than, the SDS patients. The perioperative complications were mild (small wound gap, small scrotal hematoma) and were seen in 5% of SDS patients and 0% of admitted patients. Late complications (chordee, mild erectile dysfunction, and urinary tract infection) were seen in 19% of SDS patients and 18% of admitted patients. The incidence of recurrences after a mean follow-up of 27 months was comparable (3% for the SDS and 6% for the admitted group).
CONCLUSIONS: Decreasing the impact of urethroplasty surgery allows safe early discharge for most patients. Unexpected admissions were uncommon, and we continue to plan for admission only for the extremely elderly, those with severe comorbidities, and those expected to undergo lengthy (longer than 5 hours) surgery.