Preoperative evaluation of patients with bladder outlet obstruction with particular regard to excretory urography.

During the last 15 years excretory urography has been a routine preoperative diagnostic procedure for patients with bladder outlet obstruction in our department and, perhaps, for many more years in other urological centers. There are 2 reasons that this investigation should be done: 1) to detect abnormalities of the upper urinary tract that can be important indicators to operate or for the postoperative course and 2) to detect abnormalities in the bladder that should be corrected simultaneously with the prostatectomy or that can interfere with the procedure.