CASE REPORT article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Surgery
Case Report: Successful management of bilateral ureteral obstruction following repair of iatrogenic urethral ligation and transection during a canine cryptorchidectomy
Provisionally accepted
Molly Haman1,2
Meredith 't Hoen2
Rebecca Walton2,3
Jean-Sebastien Palerme2
Allison Kenzig2*
Rebecca Stokes2,4Kelly Chappell2,5- 1Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, College Station, United States
- 2Iowa State University of Science and Technology College of Veterinary Medicine, Ames, United States
- 3VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital, Los Angeles, United States
- 4Memphis Veterinary Specialists and Emergency, Cordova, TN, United States
- 5Thrive Pet Healthcare Specialists North Scottsdale, Scottsdale, AZ, United States
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ABSTRACT An 8-month-old male English Bulldog was presented to an academic referral center following iatrogenic urethral transection during an elective unilateral cryptorchidectomy. Contrast cystourethrogram demonstrated contrast leakage from the pre-prostatic urethra. An exploratory laparotomy confirmed ligation and transection of the pre-prostatic urethra, and a urethral anastomosis was performed. Post-operatively the patient developed progressive azotemia and abdominal imaging revealed bilateral hydroureter and hydronephrosis consistent with bilateral ureteral obstruction. No apparent cause for mechanical obstruction was identified during subsequent ultrasound, cystoscopy, or laparotomy. A functional ureteral obstruction was suspected to be caused by acute, severe inflammation of the urinary bladder following initial urethral trauma and subsequent ischemic injury, causing occlusion of the ureteral papillae. Bilateral ureteral stents were surgically placed, and the azotemia resolved. Following stent placement, the dog was treated for recurrent multidrug resistant urinary infections and urinary incontinence. The owner reported no persistent lower urinary signs during a follow-up call 46 months following the cryptorchidectomy.
Keywords: Acute Kidney Injury, case report, Cryptorchidectomy, ureteral stent, Urethral transection
Received: 24 Oct 2025; Accepted: 10 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Haman, 't Hoen, Walton, Palerme, Kenzig, Stokes and Chappell. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Allison Kenzig
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