What is meatoplasty?

Q: What is meatoplasty with reference to urology? What are the risks associated with the procedure? Are there any extra risks if the patient has already undergone by-pass surgery after acute myocardial infarction last year at the age of 39 and recently intra-coronary device ICD has been implanted. The ejection fraction of the patient is about 40%.

A:Meatoplasty means refashioning the urethral external opening to enlarge this opening. It is usually required when the terminal part of the urinary passage narrows down producing a obstructed and narrow stream. It may happen due to a variety of reasons. It is not very uncommon to see that happen after a heart bypass surgery, when a urethral catheter is usually kept for a couple of days. It entails minimum risk. Risk of a surgery has to be understood and compared with the risk you carry if the problem is not corrected surgically. Urine infections and changes secondary to an obstructed outlet far over weigh the minimum risks of meatoplasty.