Right lateral pre catheter placement — Click the image to open the full-screen viewer.
Feline (Domestic Longhair) · Radiograph — Pelvis, Abdomen
- Species
- Feline
- Breed
- Domestic Longhair
- Age
- 5 years
- Sex
- Male neutered
- Weight
- 5.5 kg
- Level
- Vet student and tech
Presenting complaint and brief history
Presented to emergency for stranguria, lethargy and hiding.
Diagnosis
Hides the diagnosis, imaging findings, outcome, take-home points and correlation photos so you can read the images blind.
Iatrogenic urethral perforation by urethral catheter stylet
Confirmed
Imaging findings
A metallic catheter stylet extends dorsally beyond the expected course of the urethra, indicating urethral perforation. Amorphous mineral opacity debris is present within the urinary bladder. Scant peritoneal effusion is visible without evidence of pneumoperitoneum or rectal displacement.
What happened with the patient
Successful urinary catheter placement, however the urinary catheter is radiolucent and when the attending veterinarian attempted to place back the stylet to confirm positioning with radiographs, resistance was encountered. Patient was kept in hospital for 5 days with catheter in place and was discharged without additional complications.
Key take-home points
- Catheter stylets should never be re-advanced into an in-situ urinary catheter due to the high risk of exiting the catheter wall and lacerating the urethra.
- Catheter placement for radiolucent tubes is safely confirmed via small-volume positive contrast urethrocystography rather than metallic wire re-advancement.
Some fields on this case were drafted with AI assistance from the contributor's own report or dictation, then reviewed by the contributor and by a reviewer before publication. How we use AI.
Contributed by
- Claudia Villa
DVM
1 case
Educational use only — not clinical advice.
Cite this case
Villa C. Iatrogenic urethral perforation by urethral catheter stylet. Radabase case d3bfcf9b. Retrieved 2026-10-29 from https://www.radabase.vet/case/d3bfcf9b-8bee-4162-848b-1be0e9d410f1
Also searched as: urethral perforation, urethral rupture, urethral tear, urethral puncture, catheter-induced urethral injury, catheter-associated urethral perforation, traumatic urethral perforation, urethral wall disruption, urethral instrumentation injury, catheterization injury, catheterisation injury, punctured urethra
Discussion
Questions and observations from colleagues. Never post identifying patient or owner information.
Loading…