Posted 3/11/2010 11:08 PM (GMT 0)
Mel, I can honestly tell you don't understand the scope or seriousness of a chronic stricture issue. Bro. Carlos just posted a good recount of how a normal dialation is done in a uro's office. For minor and regular once or twice kind of urethera strictues, it usually works.
What I have, and the others mentioned, is more involved. Last July, after slowly closing up, had to go to my uro in great pain. All I expected was a cath installed until we could figure it out. I was 100% closed at the bladder neck, he was forced to do an emergency dialation on the spot, as things were well backing up inside. There was no time for sedation drugs, with great effort, he was finally able to open me up with rods just barely big enough to insert the smallest cath, until I could be surgically opened up again. It was a close call, he said on his last attempt, if it hadn't opened that tiny amount, they would have had to take me across the street to the ER and do an emergency op, it was that dangerous. The procedure to put that cath in that day, was the most pain I ever felt in my life, it stayed at the 9-10 range, took two nurses to hold me down, and lasted at least 7-10 minutes. I bled for days afterward. I would never want to go through that again concious as long as I live.
Just prior to last weeks surgery, my doctor attempted a minor dialation under sedation, and it failed due to extreme pain, he hadn't made his way to the halfway point in the rod diameters. My bladder neck was so swollen still from radiation and the previous 4 surgeries in that area.
Trouble with dialations with chronic strictures, is that it won't last, things can close up again in as little as a week or so. I had surgery #4 on Jan. 19th, and before the end of January, the bladder neck had almost totally reclosed, my uro/surgeon said he had never seen one do it that fast before.
Thankfully, only a tiny group of men have to endure this as an ongoing problem.
David in SC