Reviewed By:
Kenji Taylor, MD, MSc (Family Medicine, Primary Care)
Dr. Taylor is a Japanese-African American physician who grew up and was educated in the United States but spent a considerable amount of time in Japan as a college student, working professional and now father of three. After graduating from Brown, he worked in finance first before attending medical school at Penn. He then completed a fellowship with the Centers for Disease Control before going on to specialize in Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) where he was also a chief resident. After a faculty position at Stanford, he moved with his family to Japan where he continues to see families on a military base outside of Tokyo, teach Japanese residents and serve remotely as a medical director for Roots Community Health Center. He also enjoys editing and writing podcast summaries for Hippo Education.
Nao Saito, MD (Urology)
After graduating from Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, Dr. Saito worked at Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital, Toda Chuo General Hospital, Tokyo Women's Medical University Yachiyo Medical Center, and Ako Chuo Hospital before becoming Deputy Director (current position) at Takasaki Tower Clinic Department of Ophthalmology and Urology in April 2020.
Content updated on Jul 10, 2024
Following the Medical Content Editorial Policy
Worried about your symptoms?
Start the Urethral Stricture test with our free AI Symptom Checker.
This will help us personalize your assessment.
By starting the symptom checker, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Frequent urination
Urinary incontinence
Urinary retention
Frequent urination at night
Excessive urination
Painful urination
Urinary urgency
Weak urine stream
Incomplete bladder emptying
Sharp pain when peeing
Trouble starting urination
Not seeing your symptoms? No worries!
With a free 3-min Urethral Stricture quiz, powered by Ubie's AI and doctors, find possible causes of your symptoms.
This questionnaire is customized to your situation and symptoms, including the following personal information:
Biological Sex - helps us provide relevant suggestions for male vs. female conditions.
Age - adjusts our guidance based on any age-related health factors.
History - considers past illnesses, surgeries, family history, and lifestyle choices.
Your symptoms
Our AI
Your report
Your personal report will tell you
✔ When to see a doctor
✔︎ What causes your symptoms
✔︎ Treatment information etc.
See full list
The urethra is a tube that carries urine from the bladder and allows urine to leave the body. A urethral stricture is when the urethra is narrowed, restricting the flow of urine from the bladder. This condition usually occurs due to inflammation or the presence of scar tissue. Pelvic fractures and an enlarged prostate can also cause urethral strictures.
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this disease:
Depending on the cause of your urethral stricture, surgical or non-surgical treatments might be recommended. The main non-surgical method would be to use an instrument called a dilator to widen your urethra. Your doctor will pass a small wire through the urethra and into the bladder to dilate it. Surgery is usually recommended in more severe cases of urethral stricture where affected tissue can be removed, followed by urethral reconstruction.
Verla W, Oosterlinck W, Spinoit AF, Waterloos M. A Comprehensive Review Emphasizing Anatomy, Etiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Male Urethral Stricture Disease. Biomed Res Int. 2019 Apr 18;2019:9046430. doi: 10.1155/2019/9046430. PMID: 31139658; PMCID: PMC6500724.
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2019/9046430/Blandy JP. Urethral stricture. Postgrad Med J. 1980 Jun;56(656):383-418. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.56.656.383. PMID: 6997851; PMCID: PMC2425711.
https://pmj.bmj.com/content/56/656/383Gelman J, Furr J. Urethral Stricture Disease: Evaluation of the Male Urethra. J Endourol. 2020 May;34(S1):S2-S6. doi: 10.1089/end.2018.0316. PMID: 32459152; PMCID: PMC7249476.
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/end.2018.0316Keegan KA, Nanigian DK, Stone AR. Female urethral stricture disease. Curr Urol Rep. 2008 Sep;9(5):419-23. doi: 10.1007/s11934-008-0071-7. PMID: 18702927.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11934-008-0071-7Zaid UB, Lavien G, Peterson AC. Management of the Recurrent Male Urethral Stricture. Curr Urol Rep. 2016 Apr;17(4):33. doi: 10.1007/s11934-016-0588-0. PMID: 26902627.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11934-016-0588-0Male, 30s
I got more answers in one minute through your site than I did in three hours with Google.
(Sep 29, 2024)
Male, 20s
My experience was great. I was worried, but the symptom checker helped me narrow down what it might be. I feel a little relieved compared to when I first started, and it gives me a starting point for what my symptoms could mean.
(Sep 27, 2024)
Male, 50s
The questions asked and possible causes seemed spot on, putting me at ease for a next-step solution.
(Sep 26, 2024)
Female, 40s
I was actually very impressed with the results it provided because, although I didn’t mention it during the questionnaire because I thought it was unrelated, it suggested I may have something I’ve actually been diagnosed with in the past.
(Sep 25, 2024)
Reviewed By:
Kenji Taylor, MD, MSc (Family Medicine, Primary Care)
Dr. Taylor is a Japanese-African American physician who grew up and was educated in the United States but spent a considerable amount of time in Japan as a college student, working professional and now father of three. After graduating from Brown, he worked in finance first before attending medical school at Penn. He then completed a fellowship with the Centers for Disease Control before going on to specialize in Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) where he was also a chief resident. After a faculty position at Stanford, he moved with his family to Japan where he continues to see families on a military base outside of Tokyo, teach Japanese residents and serve remotely as a medical director for Roots Community Health Center. He also enjoys editing and writing podcast summaries for Hippo Education.
Nao Saito, MD (Urology)
After graduating from Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, Dr. Saito worked at Tokyo Women's Medical University Hospital, Toda Chuo General Hospital, Tokyo Women's Medical University Yachiyo Medical Center, and Ako Chuo Hospital before becoming Deputy Director (current position) at Takasaki Tower Clinic Department of Ophthalmology and Urology in April 2020.
Our symptom checker AI is continuously refined with input from experienced physicians, empowering them to make more accurate diagnoses.
“World’s Best Digital
Health Companies”
Newsweek 2024
“Best With AI”
Google Play Best of 2023
“Best in Class”
Digital Health Awards 2023 (Quarterfinalist)
Which is the best Symptom Checker?
Ubie’s symptom checker demonstrated a Top-10 hit accuracy of 71.6%, surpassing the performance of several leading symptom checkers in the market, which averaged around 60% accuracy in similar assessments.
Link to full study:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.29.24312810v1