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| GENITOURINARY RADIOLOGY |
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| Year : 2000 |
Volume
: 10 | Issue : 2 | Page
: 89-91 |
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Ultrasonographic evaluation of abnormalities of the male anterior urethra
Ravi Pushkarna, Satish K Bhargava, Mukta Jain
Dept of Radiology & Imaging, UCMS & GTB Hospital, Dilshad Garden, Delhi 110095, India
Correspondence Address:
Satish K Bhargava
E-3, UCMS & GTB Hospital, Dilshad Garden, Delhi 110095
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
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Objectives: To evaluate abnormalities of the male anterior urethra with the help of high resolution ultrasonography and to evaluate the efficacy of sonourethrography as compared to conventional radiographic procedures such as retrograde urethrography (RGU).
Material and Methods: Twenty consecutive patients with a clinical diagnosis of urethral strictures were studied. We performed RGU in all the patients followed by sonourethrography, performed independently by different observers.
We used a P-700 Philips scanner with 7.5 MHz linear array small parts probe for ultrasonography with the patient in a supine position. The urethra was dilated with 5-10 cc of normal saline and the tip of the penis was pinched manually. During scanning the patients were asked to contract the pelvic muscles to prevent the saline solution from escaping into the bladder. The penis was stretched and multiple longitudinal and transverse scans of the urethra were obtained. The procedure was well tolerated by the patients and there were no complications. The findings of RGU were compared with those of sonourethrography.
Results : Twenty patients with a diagnosis of urethral strictures were evaluated. The scans of ten patients (50%) revealed abnormalities of the anterior urethra. Six of these ten revealed strictures in the anterior urethra and three revealed urethritis. One revealed a urethral diverticulum.
Of these six, five revealed strictures on RGU as well as on sonourethrography. The scan of one patient who revealed a normal urethra on RGU, revealed a small 2mm stricture on sonography. The length of the strictures was better demonstrated on sonography in all patients and varied between 2mm and 1cm. Three patients revealed urethritis on RGU, which was appreciated very well on sonourethrography. One patient revealed a diverticulum, which was also well correlated.
Conclusion: Our study revealed that ultrasound was positive in all cases in which RGU showed strictures and in one where RGU was negative. There was no situation where RGU picked up a lesion and ultrasound did not. |
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