In this pilot study, we showed that the alpha diversity in the urinary microbiota did not significantly change despite having a buccal tissue with the capacity to support high bacterial diversity in the urinary tract. To our surprise, the post-urethroplasty urinary microbiota was not a hybrid of baseline oral and urine microbiotas; the changes detected, such as an enrichment of the Corynebacterium genus, were more nuanced yet could profoundly impact surgical outcomes like graft changes and stricture recurrence. Our study not only established the feasibility but also outlined a blueprint for conducting a large-scale study to assess alterations in the urinary microbiome in relation to surgical outcomes.
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