Summary
Etiologies of rectourethral fistula (RUF) include trauma, inflammatory processes, congenital defects, and prior pelvic surgery. Increasingly, RUF is being diagnosed in men who have received radiation therapy for prostate cancer. The most common presenting symptoms of RUF include passage of urine per rectum, irritative voiding symptoms, pneumaturia, and fecaluria. Spontaneous closure of RUF is uncommon and has not been reported in patients with RUF caused by radiation toxicity. Selection of an appropriate surgical approach is dictated by the clinical situation, life expectancy, pre-treatment urinary and bowel function, and local adjacent tissue damage. This chapter focuses on the diagnosis and surgical management of patients with iatrogenic and radiotherapy-induced RUF.
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Lane, B.R., Angermeier, K.W. (2008). Rectourethral Fistulae. In: Potts, J.M. (eds) Genitourinary Pain And Inflammation. Current Clinical Urology. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-126-4_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-126-4_23
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