Bladder Stone Incarceration in Posterior Urethral Valve Leading to Urinary Retention: A Case Report

Posterior urethral valve (PUV) and vesical calculus are individually among the most common causes of obstructive lower urinary symptoms in children. Intermittent urinary retention can be caused by a combination of PUVs and bladder stones. There are very few reports of an association between PUVs and bladder calculus.

We present a case of intermittent urinary retention resulting from a stone obstructing the PUV. The patient experienced intermittent urinary retention for over a month. A computed tomography scan revealed a bladder stone in the posterior urethra. The intracorporeal lithotripsy for calculus with fulguration of the PUV was performed using holmium:YAG laser.

For any boy presenting with urinary retention, we recommend a thorough urethral assessment; the absence of significant abnormalities in the urethra on voiding cystourethrography cannot rule out the presence of relevant PUV; hence, bladder endoscopy may sometimes be required for further evaluation, to rule out vesical calculus and potential PUVs.