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Published on: December 17, 2014
Penile erosion in spinal cord injury--an important lesson
J Bycroft1, R Hamid, P J R Shah
1Institute of Urology and Nephrology, London, UK.
Study Design:
A case report of the complications of a spinal cord injury (SCI) patient alternating between indwelling urethral catheter and a condom drainage system for bladder management.
Objective:
To highlight the importance of penile care for bladder drainage following SCI.
Setting:
Spinal Injuries Unit, Stanmore, UK.
Subject:
A 39-year-old male who sustained a lumbar level SCI in December 2000. He presented acutely with leakage of urine around his condom drainage device.
Main Outcome Measure:
The examination revealed an eroded area on the ventral aspect of the proximal penile shaft, which corresponded to the site of condom attachment. An indwelling urethral catheter was inserted as a temporary measure before reconstruction.
Result:
At operation, in addition to the preoperatively observed area of erosion, the penile urethra was found to be cleaved for almost its entire length.
Conclusions:
The patient had suffered two complications from a combination of two types of bladder management, and surgery was successful in treating both the urethral cleavage and the skin erosion.
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