Urethral Fistulas and Diverticula

Abstract

The female urethra is well protected and rarely injured except during childbirth, operation, or an automobile accident. As a result of the trauma, the patient may experience an avulsion of the urethra, generally in the area of the bladder neck. Less commonly, women may experience a penetrating wound as a result of being impaled while fence climbing or being struck by farming tools; such injuries frequently result in hematoma of the vulva and laceration of the urethra. Occasionally, injuries to the vagina, rectum, and urethra result from a disproportion between the size of the penis and that of the vagina. These usually result in disruption of the posterior vaginal wall and anal sphincter rather than trauma to the urethra or the base of the bladder.