COMPARISON OF RECURRENCE RATE BETWEEN INTERNAL OPTICAL URETHROTOMY AND END-TO-END URETHROPLASTY IN PATIENTS WITH BULBAR URETHRAL STRICTURE UPTO 1.5CM

Abstract

Objective: To compare the recurrence rate between internal optical urethrotomy and end-to-end urethroplasty in patients with bulbar urethral stricture measuring up to 1.5 cm. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Urology, Sahiwal Teaching Hospital, Sahiwal, from November 2025 to February 2026. Methodology: Sixty patients aged 18–70 years diagnosed with primary or recurrent bulbar urethral stricture ≤1.5 cm were included and randomly allocated into two groups. Group A (n=30) underwent internal optical urethrotomy, and Group B (n=30) underwent end-to-end urethroplasty. Baseline demographics and clinical variables were recorded. Patients were followed for three months to assess recurrence. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Quantitative variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation, and qualitative variables as frequency and percentage. Results: The mean age of patients was 41.62 ± 14.42 years, and mean stricture length was 0.96 ± 0.30 cm. Recurrence at three months was significantly higher in the internal optical urethrotomy group (60.0%) compared to the end-to-end urethroplasty group (13.3%) (p=0.0005). The mean operative time was significantly shorter in the urethrotomy group (34.83 ± 5.86 minutes) compared to the urethroplasty group (90.93 ± 15.90 minutes) (p<0.001). Conclusion: End-to-end urethroplasty demonstrates significantly lower recurrence rates compared to internal optical urethrotomy for bulbar urethral strictures up to 1.5 cm.