Male urethral cancer

A 55 years old man presented with long standing voiding obstructive symptoms like poor stream, frequency of micturition, straining at micturition and a sense of incomplete evaluation since 2002. He was clinically diagnosed a case of stricture urethra. Later he developed a swelling in the penoscrotal region with retention of urine in March 2005 and was treated by dilatation. But on removal of the catheter he developed retention again for several times and ultimately for gross periurethral sepsis, urinary diversion was required in May 2005. In October 2005, biopsy from the scrotal abscess wall established the diagnosis of urethral carcinoma. In November 2005 extensive penoscrotectomy was done followed by chemo-radiotherapy. But the prognosis was so bad that the patient died in November 2006. Urethral carcinoma is a rare disease diagnosed in the department of urology, Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, the prognosis of which is also poor even after extensive operations.