Prevention of complications resulting from pelvic fracture urethral injuries--and from their surgical management.

Times have changed, and urology is not what it was: it is no longer possible for any urologist to be an in-depth expert in more than one or two of its many expanding subspecialist fields--such as pediatric, oncology, reconstruction and functional restoration, stone surgery, gynecourology, neuropathic urinary tract dysfunction, transplantation, fertility, and andrology, etc. Although some techniques for the resolution of urethral strictures, such as dilatation and internal urethrotomy, can be regarded as general urologic procedures, the problems involved in definitive urethral reconstruction should never be underestimated. The potentially complicated nature of a pelvic fracture urethral injury is entirely apparent. It is particularly important to appreciate that an apparently short subprostatic stricture cannot be reliably identified preoperatively as 'simple' and consequently appropriate for a simple perineal approach repair; any surgical failure to resolve a urethral distraction defect inevitably complicates it and may even preclude a subsequent anastomotic retrievoplasty. Thus, surgeons with a general urologic training who do not have both a special additional and ongoing experience of reconstructive procedures and a particular aptitude for the problems involved must be advised that "having a go" is not in the best interests of their patients. The prevention of complications is the essence of good surgery and is essentially a personal matter because many contrarily conceived procedures work quite satisfactorily in the hands of others: consequently, many of the views expressed in this communication are essentially personal, and references to personal publications are made to substantiate statements. However, no one is more conscious than I am of the contributions of friends and colleagues across the world who are interested in the most intriguing field of functional reconstruction, and I am also particularly grateful to the many who have most generously referred their patients and thus created the series on which this article is based.