Urethral catheter induced pseudoaneurysm of the bulbar artery

Abstract

Injuries of the urethra due to urethral catheter have been well recognised. We report a case of pseudoaneurysm of the artery to the bulb of the penis which formed due to necrosis of the arterial wall secondary to prolonged pressure due to a wrongly placed urethral catheter. The catheter was inflated in the bulbar urethra and left during surgery for 4 hours. The patient developed intermittent severe urethral bleeding. An angiogram of internal iliac artery showed a pseudo aneurysm involving the bulbar artery with arteriovenous communication. Super selective embolization of the feeding vessel was performed with cessation of the blood fl ow immediately. To our knowledge, pseudoaneurysm of the bulbar artery of penis has not previously been described.