Strictures

Well hello again boys, its been a while but I am coming up on one year post op and things are going great except for this nagging stricture. I have been having regular PSA tests and all have been .01 or less which is great news, also I have no limitations on activity and am pretty much fully continent. I still have this nagging stricture issue so we are going back in for dilation on Monday and a possible cut in the stricture. I went to Yale and met with a Urologist who specializes in strictures and he recommended to start with laser and go from there. His concern is that if the stricture is removed it could lead to incontinence. My Urologist who preformed the original surgery has the same feeling, he does not use the laser and prefers a knife to remove strictures, he says they both scar, so we are going back and he will make a decision when he gets in there. One thing is for sure whether its a dilation or a cut that darn catheter is going back in

I understand. It was a constant problem for me after surgery, one whereby no perm. solution was ever found. Every time my urologist had to perform a stricture related procedure on me, he warned me, that it could leave me incontinent, so there was real risk involved.

He tried dilations, he tried a knife, he tried laser, tried it all. In some cases, I would be 100% closed from new scarring in 30 days time. There was never a time post-surgery that I was ever able to urinate on my own, either without extreme pain, or blockage.

It only resolved post radiation damage, when my bladder and bladder neck were badly burned. It took a full blown major operation, illeal conduit, which constructed a stoma (Urostomy) to ever free me of the problem of stricture. A huge and major decision, one I hope you never to have to deal with.

Without my Urostomy device, I would be 100% incontinent, 100% of the time.

Good luck on your next procedure.

Here's hoping the procedure works out. Heck of a thing to through surgery and have to go back for more.

Hang in there,
Andrew

Hello....strictures.....one of the post op side effects that can happen...we had no idea of this going into surgery. For my husband it became a problem immediately after the first catheter was removed. Several catheters, all kinds of test, and two outpatient procedures (cutting) over seven months. Thankfully, after one full year since the second procedure, no more stricture and finally down to one pad a day and improving.

I'll be headed back for my third stricture "visit" in 6 months in a couple of weeks. They are working for less time with each visit. Took 4 years to become an issue, but once it woke up, ....