Bladder neck incompetence at posterior urethroplasty

The finding of an incompetent bladder neck (BN) at the time of posterior urethroplasty will necessarily exacerbate the already difficult situation. In such cases the aim of the treatment is not only to restore urethral continuity by end-to-end urethral anastomosis, but also to restore the function of the BN to maintain urinary continence. Fortunately, the incidence of incompetence of the BN at posterior urethroplasty is uncommon, usually ≈4.5%. It seems that pelvic fracture-related BN injuries, in contrast to urethral injuries which result from a shearing force, are due to direct injury by the sharp edge of the fractured and displaced pubic bone. The risk of injuries to the BN is greater in children, in patients with a fracture involving both superior and inferior pubic rami on the same side, and in those managed initially by primary realignment. An incompetent BN is suspected by finding an open rectangular BN on cystography, and a fixedly open BN on suprapubic cystoscopy. An incompetent BN can be treated either subsequent to or concomitant with the urethral repair, according to whether a perineal or a perineo-abdominal urethroplasty is used, respectively. Several options have been reported to treat pelvic fracture-related BN incompetence, including reconstructing the BN, forming a new sphincter by tubularisation of a rectangular flap of the anterior bladder wall, and mechanical occlusion by an artificial sphincter or collagen injection. Reconstruction of the BN by the Young-Dees-Leadbetter∗∗ procedure probably provides the most successful results.