Abstract

• Objectives
  Urethral masses are not common in urogenital disease. The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze urethral masses.
• Methods
  We reviewed 82 cases of urethral mass which were confirmed pathologically at Urology Department of Ewha Womans University Hospital from January 1985 to December 1994.
• Results
  1) Age distribution was between 10 and 82 years(mean age 48.7 years), showing the highest incidence in 31 to 60 years(53/82, 64.6%) and female to male ratio was 5.8:1.
  2) Major symptoms were foreign body sensation of urethra(42/82, 51.2%), vaginal spotting (20/82,24.4%), dysuria(12/82, 14.6%), residual urine sensation and urinary frequency.
  3) Among them, 40 cases were urethral caruncle(40/82,48.8%), 13 were urethral diver-ticulum(13/82, 15.9%), 10 were urethral condyloma(10/82, 12.2%), and 8 were urethral leiomyoma(8/82, 9.8%).
  4) Among urethral caruncles, 24 cases were telangiectatic type(24/40, 60%), 8 were papillomatous type(8/40, 20%) and 8 were granulomatous type(8/40, 20%).
  5) Surgical excision with electrocauterization or laser fulguration was performed in all cases and radiation therapy was added in case of leiomyosarcoma.
• Conclusion
  These results suggest that urethral masses are more common in female than male, most of them are benign condition, urethral caruncle is a major disease, and surgical excision with electrocauterization or laser fulguration is a good treatment.
• Keywords: Urethra; Caruncle; Diverticulum; Condyloma; Leiomyoma; Excision