Anterior Urethral Penetrating and Blunt Injuries

The incidence of urethral injuries in reports from Vietnam indicates a moderate variability. Salvatierra and colleagues reported 14 urethral injuries in 252 urological war injuries for an incidence of 5.6%, whereas Selikowitz reported 25 urethral injuries in 250 urological injuries for an incidence of approximately 10%. (Actually, Selikowitz’s incidence would be higher if he had included anterior urethral injuries as urethral injuries, but he reported these under penile injuries.) In a very small series, Busch and colleagues reported an incidence of 6.3%; and Umhey, 1 urethral injury in 8 patients with penile injuries. The World War II experience of Kimbrough and Culp was relatively comparable regarding the incidence of urethral injuries, being 14.4% and 16.25%, respectively, of all urological injuries. At the US Army Hospital, Camp Zama, Japan, we authors (JNW and JWW) managed 83 patients who had received their urethral injuries in Vietnam; their injuries constituted 11.9% of the 692 urological injuries (Table 11-1). (These same 83 patients constituted 16.5% of our 503 patients with genitourinary tract injuries.) This numGU Tract Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4,5 Ch 6,7,8,11 Ch 8,9 Ch 8,9 Ch 8,10 Structure Kidney Ureter Bladder Urethra Scrotum Spermatic Penis Testis Cord