INTRODUCTION: Physicians who perform urethroplasty have varying opinions about when the urinary catheter should be removed post-operatively, but research on this subject has not yet appeared in the literature. We performed voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) on our anterior urethroplasty patients on days 3 (anastomotic) and 7 (buccal) in an effort to determine the earliest day for removal of the urethral catheter. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective chart review of 29 urethroplasty patients from October 2002 - August 2004 was performed at two reconstructive urology centers. 17 patients had early catheter removal (12 anastomotic and 5 ventral buccal onlay urethroplasty) and were compared to 12 who had late removal (7 anastomotic and 5 buccal). RESULTS: Of those with early catheter removal, 2/12 (17%) of anastomotic urethroplasty patients had extravasation, which resolved by the following week and 0/5 (0%) of the buccal mucosal urethroplasty patients had extravasation. Patients with late catheter removal underwent VCUG 6-14 days (mean 8 days) after anastomotic urethroplasty and 9-14 days (mean 12 days) after buccal mucosal urethroplasty. 0% of the anastomotic urethroplasty had leakage after the late VCUG and 1/5 (20%) of the buccal patients had extravasation after the VCUG. Recurrences were low in all patient groups. CONCLUSION: Catheter removal after anastomotic and buccal mucosal urethroplasty can be safely attempted on the 3rd and 7th post-operative days respectively, with a low rate of extravasation on VCUG. Eliminating the catheter as soon as possible should improve patient comfort without harming results and decrease the overall negative impact of surgery on the patient.

INTRODUCTION: An extensive study of complications following urethroplasty has never been published. We present 60 urethroplasty patients who were specifically questioned to determine every possible early and late complication. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective chart review of urethroplasty patients between August 2000 and March 2004. An "open format" questioning style allowed maximal patient reporting of all complications, no matter how minor. RESULTS: 60 patients underwent 62 urethroplasties (24 anterior anastomotic, 19 buccal mucosal and 10 fasciocutaneous, 9 posterior anastomotic) with mean follow-up of 29 months. Early complications occurred in 40%, but only 3% were major (rectal injury and urosepsis). Early minor complications included scrotal swelling, scrotal ecchymosis and urinary urgency. Late complications occurred in 48%, but only 18% were significant (erectile dysfunction, chordee and fistula). Late minor complications included a feeling of wound tightness, scrotal numbness and urine spraying. Fasciocutaneous urethroplasty caused the most significant complications, and buccal mucus urethroplasty the least, while also resulting in the lowest recurrence rate (0%). CONCLUSIONS: Serious complications after urethroplasty (3% early and 18% late) appear similar to those reported elsewhere, but minor bothersome complications appear to occur in much higher numbers than previously published (39% early and 40% late). While all the early complications were resolved and most (97%) were minor, less than half of the late complications were resolved, although most (82%) were minor. These complication rates should be considered when counseling urethroplasty patients, and generally tend to support the use of buccal mucosal onlay urethroplasty as it had the lowest rate of serious side effects.