8-139.11:

Your urethra had narrowed. One or more bottlenecks in your urethra have been widened.

When you have to pass water, the urine flows from the bladder via the urethra and out. The urethra can be damaged by certain examinations, treatments or illnesses. Damage done to the urethra can cause scars to form when it heals. Scars can cause the urethra to narrow. The urine is then unable to flow away as easily.

For the treatment, a tube with a camera is pushed into the urethra. The camera sends pictures of the inside of the body to a screen.

A balloon is then pushed as far as the bottleneck and inflated there. A balloon that is coated with a drug is used for this. The purpose of the drug is to prevent the urethra from getting narrow again due to fresh scars. Once the drug has acted, the balloon is deflated once more and withdrawn.

During the treatment images can be created using an X-ray camera. In this way it is possible to see exactly where the urethra is expanding.

After the treatment a catheter can be inserted into the bladder. The catheter is a tube via which the urine can flow into a bag. The catheter protects the location that has been treated during the first few days.