title: Internal urethrotomy versus plasmakinetic energy for surgical treatment of urethral stricture.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  we aimed to compare the longterm outcome of surgical treatment of urethral stricture with the internal urethrotomy and plasmakinetic energy.
  
  
  METHODS
  60 patients, who have been operated due to urethral stricture were enrolled in our clinic. None of the patients had a medical history of urethral stricture. The urethral strictures were diagnosed by clinical history, uroflowmetry, ultrasonography and urethrography. The patients were divided two groups. Group 1 consisted of 30 patients treated with plasmakinetic urethrotomy and group 2 comprised 30 men treated with cold knife urethrotomy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no statistically significant differences between two groups in terms of patient age, maximum flow rate (Qmax) and quality of life score (Qol) value. A statistical difference between the two groups was observed when we compared the 3rd-month uroflowmetry results. Group 1 patients had a mean postoperative Qmax value of 16,1 ± 2,3 ml/s, whereas group 2 had a mean postoperative Qmax value of 15,1 ± 2,2 ml/s (p &lt; 0.05). In the cold knife group, 3 of 11 (27,7%) recurrences appeared within the first 3 months, whereas in the plasmakinetic group zero recurrences appeared within the first 3 months in our study. The urethral stricture recurrence rate up to the 12 month period was statistically significant for group 1 (n = 7, 23%) compared with group 2 (n = 11, 37%) (p &lt; 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We believe that plasmakinetic surgery is better method than the cold knife technique for the treatment of urethral stricture.
authors.affiliation: Derince Training and Research Hospital, Department of Urology, Kocaeli. drleventozcan@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Levent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ozcan
authors.forename: Emre Can
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Polat
authors.forename: Alper
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Otunctemur
authors.forename: Efe
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Onen
authors.forename: Oğuz Ozden
authors.initials: OO
authors.lastname: Cebeci
authors.forename: Omur
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Memik
authors.forename: Bekir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Voyvoda
authors.forename: Emre
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ulukaradag
authors.forename: Tayyar Alp
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Ozkan
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sener
authors.forename: Emin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ozbek
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003558:Cystoscopy / Q000379:methods; D004564:Electrocoagulation / Q000379:methods; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014525:Urethral Stricture / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*