Evaluation of Lingual Mucosal Grafts in Urethral Reconstruction

Urethral strictures have always been common. Urethral dilators dating to 3000 BC have been found in the tombs of pharaohs to allow them to dilate their strictures in the afterlife. The ancients knew that having a stricture meant having it for life, even if treatment was only occasional, but only recently has this idea been given an evidence base.Since the 1990s, a large variety of free extragenital graft tissues have been used for substitution urethroplasty, such as the ureter, saphenous vein, appendix, full-thickness skin, bladder mucosa, and buccal mucosa.The mucosa covering the ventrolateral aspect of the tongue is identical in structure with that lining the rest of the oral cavity. so the lingual mucosal graft (LMG) is now used for substitution urethroplasty.lingual mucosal graft urethroplasty is associated with minor immediate and short term complications. Nevertheless, complications seen with BMG harvesting are not seen with LMG graft harvesting. Also, it is a much simpler procedure and provides longer grafts. Thereby, it can be a suitable alternative to BMG urethroplasty or could provide extra graft in patients with long urethral strictures where both inner cheek mucosa has already been harvested.