Electrical resistance of appliances as a cause of urethral stricture following transurethral resection of prostate.

We performed transurethral resection for prostatic hypertrophy on 128 patients, and encountered 6 causes of postoperative urethral stricture. As they occurred during a short period, we investigated the causes. An electrical check revealed electrical resistance of more than 10,000 omega in the electric cord of a resectoscope. When an unused loop was connected with three used cords (No. 1, 2 and 3) and a new cord, the resistances were 2,000, 5,000, 0.9 and 0.5 omega, respectively. Moreover, the respective resistances were 15,000, 1,150,000, 1.3 and 0.9 omega when a used loop was tested. These findings suggested that the excessive resistance resulted from the use of a worn cord and that the used loop caused the postoperative urethral stricture.