Management of a postoperative vaginal stricture by perendoscopic balloon dilation in a dog

A female dog was presented for severe dysuria. Vaginal palpation, vaginoscopy and retrograde vaginourethrography revealed the presence of a urethral mass extending 40 mm cranial to the external urethral meatus. Biopsies confirmed a poorly differentiated transitional cell carcinoma. The urethral meatus along with 45 per cent of the total urethral length were excised and an end-to-side urethrovaginal anastomosis was performed through an episiotomy approach. Two weeks postoperatively, the dog was presented due to a weak urinary stream and urinary incontinence after micturition. A retrograde vaginourethrography showed a postoperative stricture caudal to the urethral orifice and the formation of an urovagina. The stricture was successfully managed with three sessions of perendoscopic balloon dilation associated with intralesional injection of triamcinolone. Urethrovaginal anastomosis via an episiotomy approach could be valuable to remove selected small distal urethral masses and balloon dilation, compared with surgery, appears to be a less invasive option to manage postoperative vaginal stricture.