laser vs optical urethrotomy for urethral stricture

This study is to compare the two options of treating urethral stricture; the cold knife and the LASER. The prospective study conducted in the Department of urology of Basrah Teaching Hospital. Patients were divided in two groups, all patients had urethral strictures one group treated with optical urethrotomy and the second group treated with laser urethrotomy. Patients were evaluated both pre and post operatively for flow rate and for symptoms and complications. The number of patients studied was 30, divided in to 15 in each group (cold knife and laser). The mean peak flow rate in laser group was (12.9 ml/min), and the cold knife group was (15.4 ml/min) after 14 days post operatively. Both cold knife and laser urethrotomy improves the peak flow rate significantly two weeks after surgery but the improvement was more noticed in the cold knife group. Bleeding was more (against our expectations), while infection was less, and the operative time was more in the laser group. In conclusion, the cold knife treatment for urethal stricture is more effective with less complications than laser treatment.