The urinary tract includes kidneys, ureters and the urinary bladder. The kidneys filter and cleanse 1.3 liters of blood to produce the same quantity of urine per day.  Urine is the liquid waste excreted from the body through the urethra which is a tube that carries urine out of your body. Elimination of urine allows to drain the body waste, regulates blood pressure and volume, controls the levels of electrolytes and metabolites and maintains the pH of the blood.

Image adapted from https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=anatomy-of-the-urinary-system-85-P01468
Fig.1. Urinary Tract

Inability to urinate or empty the bladder is called urinary retention. Accumulation of urine can cause severe abdominal pain, enlarged bladder and even renal failure due to a poorly draining bladder. One of the common causes of urinary retention is urethral strictures.

Urethral strictures involve scarring of tissue in the urethra and restricts or obstructs the flow of urine. Narrowing or a block in the urethra arises due to trauma, damage to the urethral lining from previous surgeries, inflammation of the urethra, urethral infection, cancer of the urethra or prostrate. Symptoms of urethral strictures are very serious and can be devastating to the patient. Slow or decreased urine stream, painful urination, increased urge to urinate, urethral leaking, loss of bladder control, urinary tract infection, reduced ejaculation force, discharge from the urethra and pelvic pain are common symptoms seen in patients suffering from urethral strictures.

Image adapted from https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=anatomy-of-the-urinary-system-85-P01468
Fig.2. X-ray showing urethral stricture

If left untreated, rapid progression of the disease leads to adverse and deleterious consequences such as poor ejaculation and infertility, bladder and kidney damage, prostatitis and renal failure.

The patient's family is negatively impacted in terms of sleep disturbance, decreased social interactions, emotional stress and impaired sexual intimacy. These have a negative influence on the quality-of-life of the patient and family due to burden of a debilitating and chronic disease and associated healthcare costs.