Female Urethra

Diverticulum of the female urethra

• found in 1-5% of women;
• can be congenital or acquired
• acquired m/b 2/2 maternal birth trauma or instrumentation of the urethral tract
• usually presents with postvoid dribbling, followed by dysuria and dyspareunia (three Ds)
• Painful if becomes infected and distended with pus
• associated with hematuria, recurrent UTIs and stress urinary incontinence.

Dx

• Urethroscopy may be used to diagnose a urethral diverticulum but is invasive and may have difficulty in visualizing the contents of the diverticulum such as calculus or neoplasm.
• TV ultrasound and MR are both noninvasive imaging modalities that are sensitive for the detection of urethral diverticula in the appropriate context.