Implantation of the urethral stent for treatment of complex urethral strictures. Evaluation of the functional and radiological results.

We describe the results after implantation of a urethral stent in 6 patients with recurrent urethral strictures. Four patients had strictures located in close vicinity to the external sphincter. In 3 of these 4 patients open urethroplasty procedures had failed. The treatment was successful in 5 of the 6 patients with a follow-up of 6-10 months. However, in 1 patient who had a complex stricture close to the sphincter, dense fibrotic strictures recurred at the proximal end of the stent where a short segment of the stricture was left uncovered in order to preserve continence. We conclude that implantation of the stent is a valuable treatment for complex strictures in the vicinity of the sphincter on condition that the stent covers the whole stricture.