Urethral Diverticulum: Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment

Urethral Diverticulum: Symptoms

As we've already seen, it's possible to have a urethral diverticulum without also experiencing symptoms, or to have symptoms that are so vague that they won't alarm you enough to seek medical attention. Those who have symptoms, however, are most likely to notice problems with urination.

Research suggests that somewhere between 40 and 100 percent of women with urethral diverticula will notice urinary urgency and need to pee rather often. Up to 70 percent of patients, meanwhile, will experience pain while urinating or will find it hard to urinate (dysuria). Frequent urinary tract infections are a common warning sign of urethral diverticula as well, experienced by up to half of patients, and those with urethral diverticula are also likely to notice some urine "leakage" right after they finish using the bathroom. 

Other symptoms include painful sex, blood in the urine, pelvic pain, pain around the perineum, and a feeling that your bladder was not quite emptied after urination. Finally, some patients will notice a bulge within the vagina.

Should these symptoms sound familiar to you, it is of paramount importance to seek medical attention as soon as possible, though you should remember that the same symptoms can be caused by other conditions as well. If your doctor doesn't consider the possibility of a urethral diverticulum and you believe that you may have one, mentioning this to your doctor is more than justified.

How Are Urethral Diverticula Diagnosed?

Carla was lucky: her urethral diverticulum was diagnosed shortly after she started experiencing symptoms. Many women are first misdiagnosed, commonly simply with urinary tract infections. The fact that the clinical signs of this condition may not be obvious at all plays a large part in this, however, urethral diverticula can also present with rather clear physical signs.

How Are Urethral Diverticula Treated?

Surgery is only indicated if you have symptoms. Should your symptoms be mild, you may also choose to take a wait-and-see approach rather than immediately moving towards surgery, in close consultation with your medical team. Because surgery can create some of the same complications that urethral diverticulum presents to begin with, namely frequent UTIs and incontinence, as well as having the potential to lead to a fistula, it is important to weigh the risks and advantages of surgery with your healthcare provider in detail. The fact that it is possible to develop cancer within the urethral diverticulum needs to be taken into account when making this decision.

READ Blood in Urine: Causes & Treatment

Due to the delicate nature of the surrounding tissues, it is also very important that the surgery be carried out by a urologist with extensive experience in treating this problem.

If you do have surgery for a urethral diverticulum, you can expect to be able to go home on the same day. You will, however, need a catheter for approximately 10 days, as well as a course of antibiotics to prevent infection. It is normal to experience urinary leakage in the period after the surgery. This should subside with time.