What is urethral stricture?

Your urine may come out very slowly or in a weak stream. You may have belly pain from urine building up in your bladder. It may hurt to pass urine. You may not be able to control the leaking of urine. You may also have blood in your urine and urinary tract infections.

A procedure called urethral dilation can stretch and widen the urethra. A thin tube may be left in the urethra for a few days after the dilation. Your doctor may also use a thin, lighted tool with a special blade at the tip to cut through scar tissue. That can help widen the urethra.

Your doctor will ask questions about your medical history and do a physical exam. You may have tests to check to see how fast urine flows through your urethra and how much is held in your bladder. An ultrasound or an X-ray test can show urine as it moves through your urethra.

Doctors sometimes don't know what causes a stricture. Often it's caused by an injury to the area around a man's scrotum. An injury can be from a fall, a procedure, or an infection, such as a sexually transmitted infection.

A urethral stricture is a narrowing of the urethra. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from your bladder to outside your body. When something makes the urethra get tighter, it's hard for urine to pass out of your body. Strictures are more common in men than in women.