Small Animal Surgery Intern University of Georgia Athens, Georgia
Scrotal Urethrostomy: A Retrospective of 134 Dogs.Fernandez M, Luther J, Torres B. University of Missouri, Veterinary Health Center, Columbia, MO.
Scrotal urethrostomy is the preferred method of permanent urinary diversion performed in dogs. There is currently a paucity of literature evaluating the complication rate and outcomes of urethrostomies in a large population of dogs. The goal of this study is to evaluate short- and long-term complications of urethrostomies in dogs via retrospective evaluation. Records from 134 dogs that had undergone scrotal (SU), prescrotal (PSU), and perineal (PU) urethrostomy from 2004 to 2020 at the University of Florida, University of Iowa, University of Missouri, University of Minnesota, Oklahoma State University, and Texas A&M University were evaluated. The signalment, presenting complaint, perioperative medications, concurrent surgeries, and complications were recorded. Overall, 134 cases were identified with the majority of dogs (93%) receiving an SU. The most common presenting complaint was dysuria/stranguria (35%), the most common perioperative medications were antibiotics and NSAIDs, and the most common concurrent surgery was cystotomy (43%). Overall, 77% reported some form of postoperative complication with bruising (48%) and minor hemorrhage (47%) most common. Long-term complications were reported less commonly and included urethral stricture (2%), urine scalding (4%), and urinary tract infections (16%). Only 4% reported postoperative re-obstruction and only 5% underwent surgical revision. A limitation of this study is the retrospective nature. Overall, this report demonstrates that SU is the most common type of urethrostomy and that urethrostomies are successful in relieving urinary obstruction with a relatively low long-term complication rate.