Endoscopic treatment of posterior urethral obliteration: long-term followup and comparison with transpubic urethroplasty.

We compare our results with the endoscopic management of posterior urethral obliteration in 8 patients to our previous experience with transpubic urethroplasty in 6 patients. Although most patients who underwent an endoscopic procedure required 2 or 3 followup internal urethrotomies within the first 2 to 10 months after treatment, 6 have remained free of stricture for more than 2 years after this initial period of aggressive endoscopic management. This finding suggests that total obliteration of the posterior urethra can be managed effectively by endoscopic techniques. Comparison of endoscopic treatment with transpubic urethroplasty revealed a decrease in operative time, blood loss and hospital stay with endoscopic management. We recommend that transpubic urethroplasty be reserved for patients in whom urethral continuity cannot be re-established with relatively safe and simple endourological techniques.