Bladder dysfunction after proximal urethrolysis in female dogs.

BACKGROUND: Functional changes in the bladder after proximal urethrolysis are not recognized, despite the development of neuroanatomical studies of the female urethra or functional studies of the urethra after cystectomy. The aim of the present pilot study is to investigate possible functional changes in the bladder after proximal urethrolysis in female dogs. METHODS: The bilateral nerve branches to the urethra were resected by separating the urethra from the anterior vaginal wall in 10 female dogs. Pre- and postoperative cystometrograms were recorded under anesthesia and the bladder capacity, threshold pressure for micturition and bladder stiffness (the inverse of compliance) were compared. RESULTS: Fourteen days postoperatively, the bladder capacity significantly decreased and the threshold pressure and bladder stiffness significantly increased. Eight weeks after surgery, the threshold pressure and bladder stiffness remained high, but the bladder capacity tended to return to baseline values. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that proximal urethrolysis with bilateral sections of the nerve branches to the urethra produces a low-compliant bladder in the early postoperative period and suggest that afferent stimuli from the urethra may participate in maintaining a compliant bladder during filling.