Evaluating outcomes for perineal urethrostomy in the cat

January 23, 2013

Ruda L and Heiene R. Short- and long-term outcome after perineal urethrostomy in 86 cats with feline lower urinary tract disease. J Small Anim Pract. 2012; 53: 693-8.

Perineal urethrostomy is a surgical procedure used to treat some cats experiencing obstruction in the lower urinary tract, especially those with complicated or recurrent disease. There are few published studies evaluating the long-term outcome of this surgery. The goal of this study was to evaluate the long-term prognosis, recurrent episodes, quality of life, and survival times in cats who underwent perineal urethrostomy.
 
The investigators collected data from the medical records of 86 cats that had received the surgery. The average length of survival after surgery was 3.5 years. Five cats did not survive 2 weeks after surgery, while another 6 cats did not survive 6 months. The vast majority lived longer than 6 months, with a majority remaining asymptomatic after surgery. For 19 cats, information was available for more than 6 years; among these, 13 were still alive at the time of the study. Six cats were euthanized due to diseases unrelated to the urinary tract. Quality of life was categorized as good by owners in 88% of the cases. This study showed that long term complications are minimal and quality of life is good after perineal urethrostomy. [MK]

See also: Bass M, Howard J, Gerber B and Messmer M. Retrospective study of indications for and outcome of perineal urethrostomy in cats. J Small Anim Pract. 2005; 46: 227-31.