Symptoms


Men with a stricture will experience the following symptoms:

  • slow flow 
  • straining to urinate
  • pain during voiding
  • sensation of incomplete emtpying or urinary retention
  • recurrent urinary tract infections

Urethral stricture is a narrowing of the urethra (tube that carries urine from bladder  to the opening at the tip of the penis). Strictures of the urethra slow down the urinary stream and cause discomfort while urinating. If untreated, strictures will result in incomplete bladder emptying, urinary retention and backup of urine into the kidneys (hydronephrosis) which can eventually lead to renal failure.

Causes


The most common causes are injury or inflammation. Scar tissue that forms the stricture can form from

  • injury to penis, scrotum or perineum (e.g. straddle trauma)
  • injuries or trauma while placing or advancing catheters or instruments through the urethra
  • infections (e.g. STD like chlamydia)


Urethral stricture disease

Diagnosis


Symptoms, non-invasive flow rate measurements and ultrasound can provide clues that a patient could potentially suffer from a urethral stricture. However, the definite diagnosis can only be made by either

  • cystoscopy (an endoscopic camera examination of the lower urinary tract) and/or
  • urethrogram (an X-ray examination of the urethra)