title: The impact of ventral oral graft bulbar urethroplasty on sexual life.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the pre- and postoperative aspects of sexual life (SL) in patients with bulbar urethral stricture who underwent ventral oral graft urethroplasty.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 2009 and 2010, 52 men (mean age 36 years) were enrolled in our prospective study to ascertain sexual disorders before and after surgery. The validated Male Sexual Health Questionnaire-Long Form (MSHQ-LF) was completed pre- and postoperatively; the unvalidated but adapted Post-Urethroplasty Sexual Questionnaire (PUSQ) was completed postoperatively. Data were compared using the non parametric Wilcoxon test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before urethroplasty, most of the patients reported sexual disorders, in particular reduced ejaculatory stream (85%); many of them (35%) feared the risk of a postoperative worsening in the quality of SL. After urethroplasty, nobody reported a worsened erection, while most of the patients noticed a significant improvement in erection, ejaculation, relationship with their partner, sexual activity, and desire. Modifications in the scrotoperineal sensitivity were reported by 42% and 15% noticed esthetic changes without impact on SL. All patients reported an improvement in quality of life (QOL) and were satisfied with the outcome of urethroplasty.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Urethral stricture disease may be responsible for sexual disorders that have a significant impact upon SL. Patients confessed a marked anxiety tackling urethroplasty and declared that one of their deepest fears regarded a potential further deterioration in the quality of SL. At short-term follow-up, the minimally invasive ventral graft urethroplasty does not cause sexual complications, apart from the post-ejaculation dribbling. On the contrary, this technique showed to restore SL in all its aspects.
authors: Center for Urethral and Genitalia Reconstructive Surgery, Arezzo, Italy. enzo.palminteri@inwind.it
authors: Enzo
authors: E
authors: Palminteri
authors: Elisa
authors: E
authors: Berdondini
authors: Cosimo
authors: C
authors: De Nunzio
authors: Giorgio
authors: G
authors: Bozzini
authors: Serena
authors: S
authors: Maruccia
authors: Cesare
authors: C
authors: Scoffone
authors: Luca
authors: L
authors: Carmignani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004542:Ejaculation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000637:transplantation*; D010410:Penile Erection; D011788:Quality of Life; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000209:etiology*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014521:Urethra / Q000601:surgery*; D014525:Urethral Stricture / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*