Pyeong Hwa Kim, Presenter: Nothing to Disclose

Ho-Young Song MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Kichang Han, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Young Jun Kim, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Han Kyu Na, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Ye Jin Lee, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Jin Hyoung Kim MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

To compare the clinical effectiveness of externally and internally covered stents for the treatment of benign urethral strictures.

From July 2002 to June 2010, 59 retrievable self-expandable polytetrafluoroethylene-covered nitinol stents were placed in 33 male patients with benign urethral strictures. These included 34 internally covered stents placed in 18 patients (group A), and 25 externally covered stents in 15 patients (group B). Stents were routinely removed 4 months after placement from patients who experienced no complications. Complications, duration of stent placement, removal techniques, and maintained patency rates were compared in the two groups.

Twenty-eight complications occurred in 15 patients in group A, while 12 complications occurred in 6 patients in group B (P = .005). Three (16.7%) patients in group A and nine (60%) in group B had their stents electively removed without complications (P = .010). Stent migration was more frequent in group A (47.1%) than group B (24.0%). No tissue ingrowth was detected in group B, while six cases of tissue ingrowth occurred in group A (P = .034). The standard technique was more frequently used in group B (70.8%). The median stent indwelling period was significantly shorter in group A than in group B (51.5 vs. 114 days, P = 0.34).

Retrievable self-expandable nitinol stents externally covered with PTFE membrane are clinically more effective than internally covered stents in the treatment of benign urethral strictures.

Externally covered stents are more effective than internally covered stents in the treatment of benign urethral strictures.

Kim, P, Song, H, Han, K, Kim, Y, Na, H, Lee, Y, Kim, J, Comparison of Internally and Externally Covered Retrievable Stent Placement for Patients with Benign Urethral Strictures.  Radiological Society of North America 2011 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, November 26 - December 2, 2011 ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2011/11008761.html