Endoscopic urethrotomy versus urethrotomy plus Nd-YAG laser in the treatment of urethral stricture

Between February 1987 and May 1988, 30 patients who presented with single, iatrogenic, annular strictures of the bulbar urethra were included in this prospective study. They were randomly divided into two groups; group 1: 15 patients who underwent direct-vision endoscopic urethrotomy (cold-knife incision at 12 o'clock) and group 2: 15 patients who underwent internal urethrotomy plus Nd-YAG laser. The results obtained were analyzed and compared at 1 and 2 years by clinical evaluation, uroflowmetry and retrograde-voiding urethrography. Group 1 obtained 80% good results at 1 year, falling to 60% at 2 years follow-up. Group 2 presented good results in 73.3% both at 1 and 2 years of follow-up.