Urinary Obstruction: Urethral Obstruction

Urethral obstruction without rupture is often a cause for presentation of a small animal for urgent care, and results commonly from urolithiasis, although neoplasia and trauma may also result in obstruction. Even though any age, breed, or sex of dog or cat may experience blunt or penetrating injury to the urethra, urethral injury has been more commonly reported in males of both species, owing in part to increased susceptibility to urethral obstruction. Transvesicular percutaneous cystolithotomy (PCCL) was described as a minimally invasive technique for retrieving cystic and urethral calculi through a small cystotomy incision. Urethral catheterization in dogs and cats is performed to establish urine egress in patients with obstructive urocystoliths or urethroliths. Urethral stents are most commonly placed in dogs and cats for the relief of obstruction due to malignant neoplasia, but have also been placed for treatment of urethral strictures, granulomatous and proliferative urethritis, and other benign diseases.