PubMed1997
The lower urinary tract is injured in less than 1% of all firearm wounds in men. In war medicine, blast wounds occur in 75% of the cases while in civil medicine ballistic injuries are more frequent. When the bladder and the posterior urethra is involved, the projectile usually follows a path through the gluteal muscles and pelvis. A perineal genital path is usually found for injuries to the anterior urethra. This explains the frequency of associated vascular and colorectal lesions in pelvic wounds and genital injuries in perineal wounds. Bone and muscle injuries occur in both situations. A mental reconstruction of the projectile path is required for a precise diagnosis of the lesions, together with the clinical examination (urine outlet, miction impossible with or without bladder extension, urethral bleeding) and most importantly standard x-ray of the pelvis in search of bone lesions and the projectile. Urethrography should always be performed whenever the urethra is injured in all civil wounds. However, the final diagnosis of the lesions can only be made at surgery. Urology procedures, usually performed by polyvalent surgeons, should be simple, rapid and reliable. It is important to preserve urinary and genital functions in these young subjects usually under 30 years of age. Cystostomy and drainage is the strict minimum. In addition, depending on the infectious and hemodynamic status, conservative excision of damaged tissue is needed prior to primary closure. Wounds involving the bladder can be closed in 95% of the cases. Closure is simple for wounds involving the superior portion of the bladder. For deeper wounds involving the trigone endovesical suture is used after intubing the ureters. Ureteral drainage is mandatory when the bladder is highly damaged and cannot be closed. Urethro-prostato-membranous wounds should also be repaired to avoid inevitable fibrosis of fistulization. However, access to the apex of the prostate causes major bleeding and there is a risk of injuring the sphincter or erection nerves, particularly by surgeons inexperienced in urogenital surgery. When massive bleeding cannot be controlled by clamping the two hypogastrics, symphysiotomy, rather than symphysectomy, is recommended. In other cases, aligning the urethral extremities may be sufficient. Short wounds to the anterior urethra should be cleaned and the extremities spatulated and anastomosed on a guide when they can be closed. In other cases, a perineal or penile urethrostomy is created. Associated wounds involving the anus and rectum require colostomy, emptying the excluded rectum and wide pelvic-perineal drainage. An attempt should be made to repair the rectum or the sphincter. Genital lesions require early repair: tight suture of the albuginea of the cavernous bodies with or without a patch, preservation of viable testicular parenchyma and adnexal tissues (but orchidectomy is necessary in 50% of the cases).