To evaluate the outcomes of excision and primary anastomosis (EPA) for radiation-associated bulbomembranous stenoses using a multi-institutional analysis. The treatment of radiation-associated urethral stenosis is typically complex owing to the adverse impact of radiation on adjacent tissue.
An IRB-approved multi-institutional retrospective review was performed on patients who underwent EPA for bulbomembranous urethral stenosis following prostate radiotherapy. Preoperative patient demographics, operative technique, and postoperative outcomes were abstracted from 1/2007-6/2018. Success was defined as voiding per urethra without the need for endoscopic treatment and a minimum follow-up of 12 months.
137 patients from 10 centers met study criteria with a mean age of 69.3 years (50-86), stenosis length of 2.3 cm (1-5) and an 86.9% (119/137) success rate at a mean follow-up 32.3 months (12-118). Univariate Cox regression analysis identified increasing patient age (p=0.02), stricture length (p<0.0001) and combined modality radiotherapy (p=0.004) as factors associated with stricture recurrence while body mass index (p=0.79), diabetes (p=0.93), smoking (p=0.62), failed endoscopic treatment (p=0.08) and gracilis muscle use (p=0.25) were not. On multivariate analysis, increasing patient age (H.R.1.09, 95%CI 1.01-1.16; p=0.02) and stenosis length (H.R.2.62, 95%CI 1.49-4.60; p=0.001) remained associated with recurrence. Subsequent artificial urinary sphincter was performed in 30 men (21.9%), of which 25 required a transcorporal cuff and 5 developed cuff erosion.
EPA for radiation-associated urethral stenosis effectively provides unobstructed instrumentation-free voiding. However, increasing stenosis length and age are independently associated with surgical failure. Patients should be counseled that further surgery for incontinence may be necessary.
Urology. 2021 Feb 05 [Epub ahead of print]
B B Voelzke, L S Leddy, J B Myers, B N Breyer, N F Alsikafi, J A Broghammer, S P Elliott, A J Vanni, B A Erickson, J C Buckley, L C Zhao, T Wright, K F Rourke, Trauma and Urologic Reconstructive Network of Surgeons (TURNS)
Department of Urology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA., Division of Urology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT., Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, CA., UroPartners, Chicago, IL., Department of Urology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS., Department of Urology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN., Department of Urology, Lahey Clinic, Burlington, MA., Department of Urology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA., Department of Urology, University of California-San Diego, San Diego, CA., Department of Urology, New York University Langone Health, New York City, NY., Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University, Spokane, WA., Division of Urology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: .