Urethral transection

Case contributed by Matt A. Morgan , 22 Nov 2015
Diagnosis certain
Changed by Matt A. Morgan, 22 Nov 2015

Updates to Case Attributes

Title was changed:
Urethral transection (traumatic)
Status changed from draft to published (public).
Published At was set to .
Body was changed:

Urethral transection is a complication of injuries to the pelvis, including pelvic fractures, straddle injuries, or, in this case, a shotgun wound.

If this patient had shown up in the emergency department, it is clear that trying to immediately place a Foley catheter before attempting a RUG would have had the disasterous consequence of creating a false channel with the catheter and causing even more damage that was already there.

The most common site of traumatic injury of the posterior urethra is at the bulbomembranous junction, where a shear force can occur in a pelvic fracture between the more mobile bulbar urethra and the more rigid membranous urethra. In the case of a gunshot wound, however... the injury can be anywhere.

  • -<p><a title="Urethral injury" href="/articles/urethral-injuries"><strong>Urethral transection</strong></a> is a complication of injuries to the pelvis, including pelvic fractures, straddle injuries, or, in this case, a shotgun wound.</p><p>If this patient had shown up in the emergency department, it is clear that trying to immediately place a Foley catheter before attempting a RUG would have had the disasterous consequence of creating a false channel with the catheter and causing even more damage that was already there.</p><p>The most common site of traumatic injury of the <a title="Male urethra anatomy" href="/articles/male-urethra">posterior urethra</a> is at the bulbomembranous junction, where a shear force can occur in a pelvic fracture between the more mobile bulbar urethra and the more rigid membranous urethra. In the case of a gunshot wound, however... the injury can be anywhere.</p>
  • +<p><a href="/articles/urethral-injuries"><strong>Urethral transection</strong></a> is a complication of injuries to the pelvis, including pelvic fractures, straddle injuries, or, in this case, a shotgun wound.</p><p>If this patient had shown up in the emergency department, it is clear that trying to immediately place a Foley catheter before attempting a RUG would have had the disasterous consequence of creating a false channel with the catheter and causing even more damage that was already there.</p><p>The most common site of traumatic injury of the <a href="/articles/male-urethra">posterior urethra</a> is at the bulbomembranous junction, where a shear force can occur in a pelvic fracture between the more mobile bulbar urethra and the more rigid membranous urethra. In the case of a gunshot wound, however... the injury can be anywhere.</p>

Updates to Study Attributes

Images Changes:

Image Fluoroscopy (VCUG) ( update )

Stack was set to .
Single Or Stack Root was set to .

Image Fluoroscopy (VCUG) ( update )

Stack was set to .
Single Or Stack Root was set to .

How to use cases

You can use Radiopaedia cases in a variety of ways to help you learn and teach.

Creating your own cases is easy.