Urethrostomy in an Alpine kid secondaryto congenital penile urethral diverticulum

Ruminant’s urogenital tract is seldom affected by congenital anomalies; cases of hypospadiasis, penile urethral diverticulum,urethral stenosis, testicular and penile hypoplasia are reported in bovine and ovine species. This case report describes the cli-nical findings and surgical treatment of the penile urethral diverticulum in an Alpine goat kid from a commercial goat farm.A 2-month-old, 10 kg bodyweight, intact male Alpine goat was referred to the University Veterinary Teaching Hospital(OVUD) at the Department of Veterinary Medicine University of Perugia - Italy, with a history of dysuria and ventral penileurine filled cyst. At genital tract examination, transparent cystic diverticulum in the ventral aspect of the prepuce and steno-tic urethral appendix were identified.After sedation, anaesthesia induction and surgical preparation of the animal, cyst centesis and pre-scrotal urethral catheteri-zation were performed. Then, penile amputation, cyst asportation, orchiectomy and oschiectomy were completed. Finally, per-manent urethrostomy was realized. The surgical wound was medicated twice daily in order to remove blood clots or tissue de-bris. The urinary bladder catheter was maintained for 3 days. On day 2, the kid’s appetite and attitude improved and urinationwas normal. Eight days after surgery, skin sutures were removed: both penile urethra and urethral orifice appeared to be healedwithout complications. At 3 months following surgery, the kid continued urinating normally and no adverse clinical or be-havioural signs were reported.In the present case report, the penile urethral diverticulum was treated by diverticulectomy and permanent urethrostomy inthe perineal area. The kid clinical status improved within 5 days and showed any further complication related to its preopera-tive condition. In the Author’s personal caseload, animals subjected to urethrostomy experienced urine soiling in the inguino-abdominal region; in case of pet goat, this could be a cause of owner complaint. However, the surgical approach gave the pa-tient a second chance of life. In conclusion, hypospadia with associated urethral diverticulum may be successfully treated by diverticulectomy and perma-nent urethrostomy; even if these surgical approaches could not be applied routinely in farm animals, they appeared to be suc-cessful in pet small ruminants.