A comparison of surgical outcomes of perineal urethrostomy plus penile resection and perineal urethrostomy in twelve calves with perineal or prescrotal urethral dilatation

Abstract

The clinical diagnosis, ultrasonographic findings, surgical management, outcome, and survival rate of perineal or prescrotal urethral dilatation in 12 male calves are described. All calves were crossbred and intact males. The most noticeable clinical presentations were perineal (n= 10) or prescrotal (n= 2) swellings and micturition problems. The main ultrasonographic findings were oval shaped dilatation of the urethra in all animals with dimensions of 40-75 X 30-62 mm. The calves with perineal urethral dilatation were treated by perineal urethrostomy (n= 4) and partial penile transection including the dilated urethra and urethral fistulation (n= 6). Prescrotal urethral dilatations were treated by penile transection proximal to the dilatation site (n= 2). Cystitis and stricture of the urethra were recorded postoperatively for two of the calves that underwent perineal urethrostomy. Nine animals were slaughtered at normal body weight approximately 6-8 months after the surgical treatment. Three animals were slaughtered after approximately three to four months, two of them having gained insufficient body weight. Our study shows that ultrasonography is a useful tool for the diagnosis of urethral dilatation in bovine calves. Our study also shows that the partial penile transection may be a suitable and satisfactory choice of surgical treatment for correcting the urethral dilatation in bovine calves.