OPTILUME (DRUG-COATED BALLOON TREATMENT) AND URETHROPLASTY SURGERY

– Optilume (drug-coated balloon) treatment is the first choice for recurrent strictures smaller than 3 cm in patients who do not want major surgery like urethroplasty.

– It is the first choice if recurrence occurs after two endoscopic (closed) cold knife surgeries.

After drug-coated balloon treatment, the re-intervention rate in the first year is 17%, while this rate is 82% after endoscopic cold knife surgery.

– The aim of the Optilume treatment is to open the stricture with a balloon and then inject a drug into the walls of the urethra to prevent the formation of tissues that cause re-narrowing after the stricture surgery.

– The procedure is performed under general anesthesia.

– It takes about 15-20 minutes.

– Our patients are discharged on the same day.

General Treatment of Urethral Stricture

– For strictures smaller than 2 cm in the posterior urethra (the section closer to the bladder), the first choice is U-intern (endoscopic cold knife surgery).

– It is a procedure that takes 15-20 minutes under general anesthesia. The patient can be discharged on the same day and carries a catheter for 4-5 days.

– However, it has a high recurrence rate.

– If it recurs, Optilume (drug-coated balloon treatment) should be the first choice.

– For posterior urethral strictures larger than 3 cm, the first choice is urethroplasty surgery.

– For the anterior urethra (the section closer to the urinary opening), the first treatment choice is urethroplasty surgery.

Urethroplasty Surgery

– It involves opening the stricture area and grafting tissue taken from the inside of the cheek, lips, under the tongue, or the inner surface of the bladder.

– In cases where the urethra is severed due to accidents, gunshot wounds, or trauma, and there is a significant distance between the bladder and the urethra, vascularized tissue should be taken and the two ends should be connected.

Urethroplasty surgery is a highly technical operation that requires significant experience to be successful.