[Post-traumatic and postoperative asymptomatic urinoma. 2 case reports]

A urinoma is a collection of extravasated urine developing after injury to the urinary tract, almost always asymptomatic, but requiring urgent surgical treatment. A Medline search for the term urinoma in publications appearing between 1996 and 1998, turned up only two reports describing an asymptomatic course. We now describe two cases of urinomas that remained asymptomatic over a period of four months. Although initially misinterpreted, a subsequent revisionary operation nevertheless resulted in a cure. In case 1, the urinoma appeared after an operation to treat recurrent rectal cancer; in case 2, the causal mechanism was an avulsed ureter. Treatment is orientated to the location (intra- or retroperitoneal) and extent of the injury, and comprises temporary stenting, drainage and, where necessary, plastic reconstruction. Even in the absence of a clinical correlate, any urinary retention newly discovered on ultrasonography must be investigated by uroradiography.