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Female Urethral Strictures: Review of Diagnosis, Etiology, and Management

  • Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms & Voiding Dysfunction (J Sandhu, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Urology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

In this review, we describe the incidence, diagnosis, and management of urethral strictures in women.

Recent Findings

Definitive repair of urethral strictures in women traditionally utilizes vaginal and labial flaps. Oral mucosal buccal graft urethroplasty also has high success rates, with larger series demonstrating feasibility and durability.

Summary

Urethral strictures in women are very rare. When they do occur, they are often difficult to diagnose, requiring a high index of suspicion. Women with urethral strictures often present with symptoms of obstructed urinary flow, such as incomplete emptying, straining, and elevated postvoid residual. First line, minimally invasive treatment consists of urethral dilation and urethrotomy, though urethrotomy is rarely performed. Repeat urethral dilation has low success rates compared with urethroplasty, which is a more definitive treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Nnenaya Agochukwu-Mmonu, Sudarshan Srirangapatanam, Andrew Cohen & Benjamin Breyer

  2. Departments of Urology and Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Benjamin Breyer

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  1. Nnenaya Agochukwu-Mmonu
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Correspondence to Benjamin Breyer.

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Nnenaya Agochukwu-Mmonu, Sudarshan Srirangapatanam, Andrew Cohen, and Benjamin Breyer each declare no potential conflicts of interest.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms & Voiding Dysfunction

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Agochukwu-Mmonu, N., Srirangapatanam, S., Cohen, A. et al. Female Urethral Strictures: Review of Diagnosis, Etiology, and Management. Curr Urol Rep 20, 74 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11934-019-0933-1

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