PREVENTION OF URETHRAL STRICTURE RECURRENCE USING CLEAN INTERMITTENT SELF-CATHETERIZATION

Objective To investigate the effect of clean intermittent catheterizat ion (CIC) on prevention of urethral stricture recurrence after interna l urethrotomy. Patients and methods Of 55 men who were randomly select ed, 43 completed the investigation. Of these, 21 patients performed CI C weekly for 1 year following Sachse's operation for urethral strictur e and 22 patients formed the control group after the same operation. A ll had an objective examination for urethral stricture every 2 months after surgery. Results Significantly fewer (P < 0.01) patients develop ed recurrence of urethral stricture within the first postoperative yea r in the CIC group (n = 4) compared with the control group (n = 15). N o CIC complications were seen, and patients who completed the CIC prog ramme considered the method fully acceptable. Conclusion Weekly CIC is a simple method of reducing the frequency of urethral stricture recur rence after internal urethrotomy.