Urethroplasty Improves Overactive Bladder Symptoms

A urethral scar may affect up to 1% of Americans and some may not have any symptoms but others may have a urinary tract infection or symptoms called Overactive Bladder (OAB). The scar tissue in the urethra restricts the flow of urine and this leads to OAB symptoms in the bladder.

In a landmark study by Dr. Osterberg and colleagues, the authors found that if a man has a urethral scar and it is fixed with a urethroplasty (a definitive surgery to fix a urethral scar) that OAB symptoms improve or disappear.  Using a validated survey, the authors captured symptoms before and after surgery. The median decrease in OAB symptoms following surgery was 54% with over 90% of men reporting improvement. The improvement was most profound  in men who had "bad" OAB symptoms-- seen in the far right side of this graph below.