Thanks everybody, for your interest in my situation. The procedure planned does not involve a urethroplasty. It will be an internal urethrotomy performed through a rigid cystoscope. I've had that before as well as a laser treatment. What surprises me is that in both instances the urologist did not keep me catheterized afterward. My current urologist kept me catheterized after the last dilation and will certainly do so after the urethrotomy. Unfortunately, strictures have a high recurrence rate in spite of treatment, so the question is, what next? My guess is daily self catheterization for the rest of my life to keep the stricture open.
At least I'm not miserable like the last 2 times my stricture flared up, so I just hope to make it to the procedure without any real trouble. And, just knowing my urologist couldn't even get the smallest sound through the stricture has me a little freaked. :-X