title: Diversion of the urine stream by surgical modification of the preputial ostium in a dog.
abstract: METHODS
  A 1.4-year-old sexually intact male Standard Poodle was evaluated with a history of urinating on its left forelimb and lower portion of the thorax.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Physical examination revealed that the dog had an unusually elevated (tucked) abdominal wall and prominent dome-shaped thoracic wall. These anatomic changes altered the angle of the urine stream, resulting in the dog's soiling the xiphoid region of the thorax and left forelimb.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The dorsal half of the preputial ostium was closed surgically to divert the urine stream in a ventral direction. The ventral portion of the ostium was reciprocally enlarged. Postoperatively, the dog urinated in a downward direction, eliminating urine contact with the body.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The preputial orifice (ostium) plays an important role in the shape and direction of the urine stream exiting the penile urethra. Dogs with an elevated abdominal wall and prominent dome-shaped thorax may be prone to contamination of the lower portion of the thorax and forelimbs with urine during normal micturition. Partial closure of the dorsal preputial ostium, with reciprocal enlargement of the lower half of the orifice, can create a deflective barrier that effectively diverts the urine stream in a ventral direction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Angell Animal Medical Center, Boston, MA 02130, USA. mpavletic@angell.org
authors.forename: Michael M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Pavletic
authors.forename: Douglas E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Brum
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D010413:Penis / Q000601:surgery*; D014554:Urination / Q000502:physiology*