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Posterior Urethral Valves

  • Pediatric Bladder Dysfunction (SJ Hodges, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Posterior urethral valves (PUV) are the most common cause of lower urinary tract obstruction in male infants. Due to improved technique and availability of prenatal imaging, diagnosis is typically suspected prenatally and confirmed postnatally. Prenatal intervention is performed in select centers with vesicoamniotic shunting or with fetal cystoscopy and antegrade ablation of the PUV when detected. Prenatal intervention has been associated with an improvement in neonatal survival; however, evidence that renal function is indeed improved remains scant. The mainstay of treatment remains early diagnosis with early establishment of drainage and subsequent management of bladder dysfunction with behavioral therapy, medication, clean intermittent catheterization, and occasionally with bladder augmentation. Other measures such as nephrectomy can be implemented to manage polyuria. Ultimately, 30 % of patients born with PUV develop end-stage renal disease and require renal transplantation.

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Conflict of Interest

Irina Stanasel and Edmond Gonzales declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine, Clinical Care Center, 6701 Fannin Street Suite 620, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Irina Stanasel & Edmond Gonzales

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  1. Irina Stanasel
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  2. Edmond Gonzales
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Irina Stanasel.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Pediatric Bladder Dysfunction

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Stanasel, I., Gonzales, E. Posterior Urethral Valves. Curr Bladder Dysfunct Rep 10, 250–255 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11884-015-0309-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11884-015-0309-4

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