Most urethral injuries occur in men. Common causes include pelvic fractures and straddle injuries (injuries to the area between the legs). The urethra can also be injured unintentionally during surgical procedures performed directly on the urethra or during procedures in which instruments are passed into the urethra, such as bladder catheterization or cystoscopy (passing a flexible viewing tube through the urethra into the bladder). Occasionally, injuries result from gunshot wounds. Rarely, urethral injuries can be self-inflicted when a person inserts a foreign object directly into the urethra.

Some injuries to the urethra are limited to bruising. Injury to the urethra can also tear the lining, resulting in leakage of urine into the tissues of the penis, scrotum, abdominal wall, or perineum (the area between the anus and vulva or scrotum).

Complications that can result from urethral injuries include infection, bleeding, permanent narrowing (stricture), erectile dysfunction, and uncontrollable loss of urine (urinary incontinence).

Symptoms and Diagnosis

The most common symptoms include blood at the tip of the penis in men or the urethral opening in women, blood in the urine, an inability to urinate, and pain during urination. Bruising may be visible between the legs or in the penis. Other symptoms may arise when complications develop. For example, if urine leaks into surrounding tissues, infection may result. In addition, the injury may cause the urethra to narrow (stricture) near or at the site of injury. Men may also experience impairment in the ability to have an erection (erectile dysfunction), caused by damage to the nerves or blood supply to the penis.

The diagnosis of a urethral injury is usually confirmed by retrograde urography, an x-ray taken after a radiopaque dye (contrast agent) is instilled directly into the end of the urethra. Retrograde urography is done before a catheter is passed through the urethra into the bladder.

Treatment

For urethral bruises that do not result in any leakage of urine, a doctor can place a catheter through the urethra into the bladder for several days to drain the urine while the urethra heals. For urethral tears, the urine should be diverted from the urethra using a catheter placed directly into the bladder through the skin over the lower abdomen. The urethra is repaired surgically after all other injuries have healed or after 8 to 12 weeks (when inflammation has resolved). Rarely, urethral tears heal without surgery.

Treatment helps to prevent some complications of urethral injuries. Complications that cannot be prevented are treated.

Last full review/revision June 2007 by Noel A. Armenakas, MD