Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Urethropexy surgery for urethral prolapse in 20 dogs
By Mas, P et al.·Published in New Zealand veterinary journal·2025·Centre Vé, Canada·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Urethropexy for canine urethral prolapse treatment: a retrospective study of 20 cases.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 20 dogs, mostly young brachycephalic breeds (like Bulldogs and Pugs), were treated for urethral prolapse, which caused symptoms like bleeding from the penis and difficulty urinating. All dogs underwent a surgical procedure called urethropexy, often alongside other surgeries like castration. Most dogs recovered well, with minor complications like swelling or temporary bleeding that cleared up within two weeks. However, two dogs experienced a recurrence of the prolapse later on, but only one needed further surgery. Overall, urethropexy proved to be an effective treatment for this condition.
People also search for: dog urethral prolapse treatment · brachycephalic dog bleeding penis · urethropexy recovery in dogs
Abstract
CASE HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: Medical record databases of a veterinary referral hospital in Montréal, Canada, were scrutinised to identify dogs that underwent urethropexy for urethral prolapse between June 2016 and March 2025.A total of 20 dogs were included in the study; brachycephalic breeds (15/20; 75%) and intact males (16/20; 80%) predominated. The median age at presentation was 10 (min 6, max 72) months, and the median body weight was 22.2 (min 2.5, max 29.6) kg. Two dogs had a urinary catheter, placed following spinal surgery, when urethral prolapse occurred.In addition to urethral prolapse, dogs presented with bleeding from the penis (10/20; 50%), haematuria (6/20; 30%), stranguria or periuria (2/20; 10%), and balanoposthitis (1/20; 5%). TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Urethropexy was performed in all 20 dogs. All but four dogs had concurrent surgical procedures: castration (n = 14), rhinoplasty, palatoplasty, and/or laryngeal sacculectomy (n = 6), or caudectomy (n = 1). Surgical duration for dogs that received urethropexy alone was 5-18 minutes and time to discharge was 1-2 days.Minor complications (transient haemorrhage, stranguria/dysuria, and/or swelling of the penile tip) were identified in 11/20 dogs (55%), all of which resolved within 2 weeks. Long-term follow-up data were obtained by a telephone interview with each owner, a median of 694.5 (min 19, max 2,827) days after surgery. Two dogs (10%) had recurrence of the urethral prolapse (considered a major complication) 2 days and 8 months after surgery. Only one of the two recurrences required surgical intervention. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Urethropexy alone may be a viable surgical option for treating urethral prolapse at initial presentation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40618776/