Your urethra is a long thin tube that travels from your bladder through your penis. Its main job is to transport urine outside your body.
Typically, the path through your urethra is wide enough to let urine travel freely. However, sometimes scar tissue can build up inside the tube and constrict urine flow, a condition known as a urethral stricture.
As a man, you’re more prone to developing urethral stricture disease since your urethra is longer and more vulnerable to disease and injury. The condition rarely affects women and young children.
Urethral stricture disease can develop for several reasons, but it always has to be addressed by a medical professional. If left untreated, you put yourself at risk for kidney stones, infections, and urinary tract issues.
At his offices located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reconstructive urologist Paul Chung, MD, FACS, leads our team in the diagnosis and treatment of urethral stricture disease. In some cases, Dr. Chung may need to perform a urethroplasty surgery to effectively address your urethral stricture disease and restore full urinary function.
This month’s blog discusses how urethral stricture disease can affect your urinary health and how undergoing urethroplasty can help.
The most common causes of urethral stricture disease are long-term inflammation and injuries, both of which can cause scar tissue to develop. A buildup of scar tissue can be due to:
In many cases, the urethral stricture develops over time as the scar tissue grows. However, it’s possible for a sudden injury to quickly and noticeably constrict your urethra.
Since a urethral stricture narrows your urethra, a weak pee stream is the main symptom of urethral stricture disease. You may have to strain to pee, have pain while you’re peeing, or feel like you’re never able to empty your bladder fully.
As soon as you notice symptoms of urethral stricture disease, seek medical treatment quickly. If the stricture isn’t treated, eventually, your urethra can become completely blocked, which causes urine to build up and puts you at risk for life-threatening complications.
When you see Dr. Chung for urethral stricture disease, he talks with you about your symptoms and performs imaging tests to determine the location and severity of the stricture.
A minimally invasive procedure is available to stretch open most scar tissue. However, this approach is often unable to remove the scar or eliminate the stricture fully, and it will most likely recur.
Urethroplasty is a surgery used to repair the damage a urethral stricture has done to your urethra. Although it is an open surgery, it’s incredibly effective and should restore full urinary function and eliminate any need for future procedures.
During the procedure, Dr. Chung removes the urethral stricture before repairing your urethra, either with tissue that’s taken from the inside of your mouth or with skin taken from your penis.
For more information on urethroplasty or our other procedures for addressing urethral stricture disease, schedule a consultation by calling your nearest office location or using our online booking feature today.
