Fig. 6

Postoperative complications, urethra caliber diameters, and morphological observation of the neourethra. a Relatively normal appearance of group H and fistula of group N. b Retrograde contrast urethrography of group H, N, and normal urethra. The diameter of the urethra in group H was significantly larger than that in group N. *p < 0.05. c–g Hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining image of urethra 3 and 6 months postoperatively. The epithelium (h–l), smooth muscle (m–q), and blood vessels (r–v) were evaluated by AE1/AE3, α-SMA, and vWF. Scale bar = 50 μm. w–y Image analysis for the contents of the epithelium, smooth muscle, and blood vessels in different groups. More epithelium, smooth muscle, and blood vessels were observed in group H than N. *p < 0.05, NS means p > 0.05