title: Use and outcomes of amplatz renal dilator for treatment of urethral strictures.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Urethral stricture disease is still a major problem in men. Many procedures are available for the treatment of urethral strictures; urethral dilatation is one of the oldest. The blind dilatation of urethral strictures may be a difficult and potentially dangerous procedure. The purpose of this study was to describe safe urethral dilatation using amplatz renal dilator and to report outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  From 2010 to 2014, a total of 26 men with primary urethral strictures were managed by urethral dilatation using amplatz renal dilators. The parameters analyzed included presentation of patients, retrograde urethrography (RGU) findings, pre-and postoperative maximum flow rate (Qmax) on uroflowmetry (UF) and post-void residual urine (PVR). Patients were followed-up at 1.6 and 12 months. The technique described in this paper enables such strictures to be safely dilated after endoscopic placement of a suitable guidewire and stylet over which amplatz renal dilators are introduced.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the patients was 57.6 (35-72) years. The median stricture length was 0.82 (0.6-1.5)cm. Pre-operative uroflowmetry showed Qmax of 7.00 (4-12) mL/sec and ultrasonography showed PVR of 75.00 (45-195)mL. Postoperatively, Qmax improved to 18.00 (15-22)mL/sec (p<0.001) at 1 month, 17.00 (13-21)mL/sec (p<0.001) at 6 months and 15.00 (12-17)mL/sec (p<0.001) at 12 months. The post-operative PVR values were 22.50 (10-60)mL (p<0.001), 30.00 (10-70)mL (p<0.001) and 30.00 (10-70) mL (p<0.001) at 1.6 12 months, respectively. The median procedure time was 15.00 (12-22) minutes. None of the patients had a recurrence during a 12-month period of follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Urethral dilatation with amplatz renal dilators avoids the risks associated with blind dilatation techniques. This tecnique is a safe, easy, well-tolerated and cost-effective alternative for treatment of urethral strictures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Gazi Yasargil Education and Research Hospital, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akkoc
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Gazi Yasargil Education and Research Hospital, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cemil
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Selahaddin Eyyubi State Hospital, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mahir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kartalmıs
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Gazi Yasargil Education and Research Hospital, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ramazan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Topaktas
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Gazi Yasargil Education and Research Hospital, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Selcuk
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Altin
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Gazi Yasargil Education and Research Hospital, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yakup
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004106:Dilatation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061646:Operative Time; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014521:Urethra; D014525:Urethral Stricture / Q000628:therapy*; D014546:Urinary Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods