Posterior urethral injuries after pelvic fracture.

Rupture of the posterior urethra is an uncommon but serious complication of anterior pelvic arch fracture. It is commonly believed that such injuries occur at the apex of the prostate and on urethrography result in extravasation of contrast material above the urogenital diaphragm. In 1977, Colapinto and McCallum proposed a different classification of such injuries. This paper presents experience in 18 proven cases of posterior urethral injury using this new classification. All patients were studied with retrograde urethrography before any attempt at urethral catheterization. The data support the contention that the traditional concept of posterior urethral injury is, in fact, unusual. Of 18 patients, 12 had complete or partial urethral injuries extending both above and below the urogenital diaphragm as demonstrated by urethrography. Only three of 18 patients had the classical injury, that is, extravasation into pelvic fascial planes limited inferiorly by an intact urogenital diaphragm.