Internal urethrotomy versus plasmakinetic energy for surgical treatment of urethral stricture.

Purpose: we aimed to compare the longterm outcome of surgical treatment of urethral stricture with the internal urethrotomy and plasmakinetic energy.
Material and Methods: 60 patients, who have been operated due to urethral stricture were enrolled in our clinic. None of the patients had a medical history of urethral stricture. The urethral strictures were diagnosed by clinical history, uroflowmetry, ultrasonography and urethrography. The patients were divided two groups. Group 1 consisted of 30 patients treated with plasmakinetic urethrotomy and group 2 comprised 30 men treated with cold knife urethrotomy.
Results: There were no statistically significant differences between two groups in terms of patient age, maximum flow rate (Qmax) and quality of life score (Qol) value. A statistical difference between the two groups was observed when we compared the 3rd-month uroflowmetry results. Group 1 patients had a mean postoperative Qmax value of 16,1 ± 2,3 ml/s, whereas group 2 had a mean postoperative Qmax value of 15,1 ± 2,2 ml/s (p < 0.05). In the cold knife group, 3 of 11 (27,7%) recurrences appeared within the first 3 months, whereas in the plasmakinetic group zero recurrences appeared within the first 3 months in our study. The urethral stricture recurrence rate up to the 12 month period was statistically significant for group 1 (n = 7, 23%) compared with group 2 (n = 11, 37%) (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: We believe that plasmakinetic surgery is better method than the cold knife technique for the treatment of urethral stricture.