Objective: To determine utility and patient perception of treatment of female urethral stricture disease utilizing in office urethral dilation with topical anesthesia.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patient perception and course of therapy of outpatient urethral dilation by a single surgeon in women with diagnosed urethral stricture disease using the self-administered PGI-I questionnaire.

Results: Thirty women underwent in-office urethral dilation and returned for the first dilation in a serial protocol. No complications were reported, and all patients received intramuscular aminoglycoside prophylaxis. Median age at original dilation was 62 years (range 29–90), and the median interval from a patient’s first lifetime dilation to the original dilation was 746 days. Initial patient-reported improvement (PGI-I) scores were 1 in 60%, 2 in 17%, 3 in 13%, and 4 in 10%. There were no significant differences in age, dilation size, prior number of dilations, or time intervals between patients reporting the best initial score (PGI-I=1) versus ≥2. Sixteen patients provided a second score; those with versus without a second score differed only in the number of prior dilations (median 5 vs 2, p=0.014). Among patients with two scores, 81% reported stable or improved symptoms at the second assessment.

Conclusion: Office-based urethral dilation for female urethral stricture disease was rated by patients as a beneficial treatment. While urethral dilation is not be a definitive therapy for female urethral stricture disease compared to formal urethroplasty, repeat urethral dilation is a safe treatment for urethral stricture disease and highly valued by the appropriate patient as a non-operative management method.